Investigations into the cause of the September 5, 2024 Endarasha Hillside Academy school fire tragedy are almost complete, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has said.
Speaking in Endarasha Police station in Kieni on Wednesday when he handed over a police vehicle to the station, Kanja said that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is winding up the investigations and will soon be releasing its findings on the cause of the fire which claimed the lives of 21 boys.
“The investigations are almost complete and in fact, it was even this morning that I was discussing the same with the DCI. That matter is now coming to a conclusion. Very soon you (Kenyans) are going to get our findings on that,” he said.
The incident occurred on the night of Wednesday, September 4, 2024 when a fire broke out in the boys’ dormitory killing 19 on the spot and left several others with severe burns.
Two days after the incident, the Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga ordered the IG of Police to launch thorough and comprehensive investigations to determine the cause of the deadly fire.
In a statement, Igonga also directed the detectives to establish whether or not the tragedy was as a result of negligence or recklessness, adding that those found culpable would be prosecuted.
“The DPP assures the public that any person found culpable towards the fire tragedy shall be expediently taken through the due process of criminal trial,” said the DPP then.
Media reports had initially attributed the cause of the dormitory inferno to an electrical fault. In an interview with a parent of one of the survivors, the fire is said to have started near the main entrance of the dormitory before spreading to the other part of the dorm which housed 156 boys on the fateful night.
However, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company overruled the possibility of an electrical fault as the cause of the fire. In a press briefing on September 10, Nyeri County KPLC business manager, Duncan Machuka said that their preliminary findings showed that there was no link between the fire and school’s electrical system.
He noted that at the time of the incident, the line supplying power to the school was low voltage and stable. Machuka said that their findings further revealed that all the electricity installations at the institution were intact.
“Based on the findings of the analysis of our protection system, from the metre box to the line substation where the medium voltage line serving the school emanates from, we have ascertained there was no link between the cause of the fire or any fault on our network as alleged in sections of media report,” said Machuka.
But in a quick rejoinder, DCI announced that it had deployed forensic teams and experts to conduct a thorough investigation into the tragedy. In a statement, Director of Criminal Investigations Abraham Mugambi, said that the sleuths would work closely with the fire safety experts and other stakeholders to unravel the cause of the fire.
“The investigators are working closely with the Central Region Disaster Management Committee, fire safety experts and officials from the County Government of Nyeri, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior and National Administration, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, State Department for Public works, Department of Chemist,KPLC, National Construction Authority, Red Cross and other stakeholders to investigate any acts of omission or commission that may have led to this tragedy. Independent reports from these entities will help in our investigations into the cause of the fire,” stated Mugambi.
However, more than seven months down the line the DCI is yet to release its findings. The school has since re-opened and is currently operating as a mixed day primary and junior secondary school.
By Wangari Mwangi
