NAKURU: Students Riot, Torch School Facilities As Police Forced To Intervene With Teargas
Tear gas and gunshot sounds were reported last night after students from Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School in Bahati, Nakuru County, staged a protest, plunging the school into chaos.
Videos and photos showed fire and thick dark smoke billowing into the night sky, with students being heard in bitter exchanges with unknown people.
The gunshots heard during the unrest were allegedly fired by police officers who had been called in to disperse the rioting students and restore calm.
The news later made headlines after nearby residents first raised concerns through text messages.
They described the tear gas and gunfire sounds mixed with the noise of students rioting inside the school compound.
āHello, can you confirm what is happening at Jomo Kenyatta Boys? I can hear unrest with gunshots and teargas with students inside the school,ā stated one resident.
āI can hear tear gas sounds from Jomo Kenyatta Boys. This is the second time they have struck this year, it is very concerning,ā stated another resident.
Further reports indicate police and school authorities suspect the blaze was deliberately started by students angered after being denied permission to attend a neighbouring school’s event.
Other sources say the riots were started after splinter groups within the school clashed the day before, intensifying the following night.
Amid the darkness, school guards could be heard urgently calling for water as they tried, largely in vain, to put out the spreading flames.
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Images obtained from the aftermath showed classrooms burnt down completely, with tattered remains of student books and papers scattered among the ashes.
The unrest comes barely weeks after the school reopened following an earlier destruction incident that occurred earlier this term, disrupting learning for students.
Each student had been made to pay a Ksh4,400 damagesĀ fine over that previous incident, only for fresh destruction to strike the institution again.
However, as of the time of the publication of this story, it is not clear if the students have been sent home indefinitely, with the school management yet to issue a report.
It also comes as theĀ Education Cabinet Secretary,Ā Julius Ogamba,Ā rolled outĀ a series of strict operational directives to curb school unrest.
CS Ogamba made it clear that institutions must strictly prioritize safety, learning time, and exam preparation, matters that were borne of contention that led to the rise of school unrest in the second term of learning.
NAKURU: Students Riot, Torch School Facilities As Police Forced To Intervene With Teargas
