President Uhuru Kenyatta and African Union Special Envoy Raila Odinga have each donated one million for the construction of a new public primary school in Dagoretti South, Ngando Ward.
During a requiem mass for the eight pupils who died at Precious Talent school tragedy on Monday, Raila said Uhuru has committed to donate one million while he would donate another one million.
Raila who doubles up as the ODM party leader said construction will start as soon as possible to accommodate affected pupils.
He said the donation was part of the government’s resolve to set up the first public primary school in the area.
The land in which the school will be established is owned by Lenana School.
“Hii ni amri ya rais, si ya mtu mwingine. Tutajenga shule hapo katika Lenana School. Lenana pia ni shule ya serikali. “Itaanza kufanyika mara moja. Hiyo ni amri,” Raila said.
This translates to, “This is an order by the president and not anyone else. We shall build the school here at Lenana because even Lenana is government’s school. The construction shall begin immediately as ordered by the president”.
Raila also urged constructors to follow the right procedures whenever they are constructing buildings and should not be corrupted.
“And to tenants, before you rent a house please do a thorough inspection. If you feel the building does n ot meet standards don’t risk your lives,” he said.
Raila added, “If we all resolved to take precautions we could save many lives. I know the truth hurts but we should learn to embrace it”.
While condemning the tragedy, Raila said as the construction commences, the over 800 learners who had enrolled at the school will be temporarily accommodated in neighboring schools.
“Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us every day…unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear,” Raila said.
The mass was attended by area MP John Kiarie, Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris among other leaders.
This comes as the court granted the prosecution 15 more days to detain the owner of the ill-fated school Moses Ndirangu to pave way for further investigations.
Kibera Chief Magistrate Joyce Gandani ordered police to get reports from Ministry of Education and Urban Planning.
“Death of a single pupil is catastrophic. Thorough investigations need to be conducted,” she said.
Ndirangu was arrested on Thursday by DCI detectives after the government ordered closure of the school.
Education CS George Magoha said the school had seriously violated stipulated guidelines with regards to enrollment.
He said the school was licensed to enroll only 340 learners including those in ECD but at the time of the tragedy it had 923 learners.