Court Orders 10-Day Detention for 9 Students Accused of Multi-Million School Arson.
Nine students from Miathene Boys High School in Meru County were arrested on Tuesday after a fire broke out at the school on the evening of July 16, 2024, destroying a dormitory.
A Meru judge ordered the nine to be kept for ten days so that police investigators could investigate the suspected arson.
By the time this report was published, the students were being held at the Tigania police station in Ngundune, Meru County.
Confirming the incident, Eastern Region Commissioner Paul Rotich stated, “Millions of shillings have been lost in the school arsons, and I want to warn learners that culprits will be brought to book.”
The arson that destroyed an entire dormitory is thought to have been motivated by a rival school’s strike that occurred just two days prior.
This significant arrest follows a recent increase in school fires around the country.
Notably, Njia Boys’ High School in the same county burned down three days ago. Six students are already being investigated for this.
On September 10, Meru County Commissioner Jacob Ouma stated that the six were caught on CCTV committing the crime, adding, “We went there this morning and found that one of their dorms with a capacity of 160 students was burned down, and preliminary investigations have revealed that this is an arson case involving rebellious students.”
Last week, a fire broke out at Hillside Endarasha School in Nyeri County, killing 21 pupils. Since then, fires have been reported at several additional schools around the country.
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For example, on the morning of September 11, Ng’ombeni Girls’ High School became the country’s latest school to record a fire in a single week.
President William Ruto has already requested a probe into the widespread school fires, which many believe are tied to the forthcoming school exams.
Court Orders 10-Day Detention for 9 Students Accused of Multi-Million School Arson.
