Students spend night in cold after dorm razed

Students at St Patrick Waitaluk Secondary School in Trans Nzoia County spent Wednesday night in the cold after their dormitory was burnt down.
School authorities suspect the fire which began around 9pm was started by an arsonist.
According to the school’s deputy principal Kennedy Wamalwa, the students were in class when the fire started.
Mr Wamalwa pointed out that there has been uneasy calm in the school over the last one month.
He said students have been demanding a school bus, that the school management support co-curricular activities, and that the school kitchen should prepare food under hygienic conditions.
‘The students had written to the office of the County Director of Education early last month saying their demands had not been met,” he said.
The county’s fire engine got stuck on the road heading to the school forcing police, residents and some students to used crude means to try to put out the fire but it was in vain property worth millions of shillings was consumed.
“The students were forced to sleep in their classrooms in cold as there was no otherwise. However, the school board is deliberating on the issue to solve the issue of their accommodation,” added Mr Wamalwa.
No student was injured.
Trans Nzoia West Police boss Jackson Mwenga said investigations had started.
‘We are still investigating the extent of damage, actual value of the property and those behind the fire,” he said.
The incident follows similar ones at St Monica Girls High and AIC Cook Secondary Schools in the county.