Four students of St Mary’s Girls High School Igoji in Meru County have been charged in a Nkubu court with torching a dormitory on Tuesday.
They denied the arson charges before Nkubu Senior Resident Magistrate Joan Irura and were released on a Sh100,000 bond each with surety.
The students, who were unrepresented, were arrested following a day-long meeting involving security agents and the school’s board of management.
They were accused that July 16, 2019, they, together with others who are still at large, set on fire Banana dormitory, destroying property worth Sh4.5million.
CASE HEARING
The case will be mentioned on July 30, 2019, while hearing will start on August 20, 2019.
The court heard that the State has lined up 10 witnesses.
The fierce fire that razed the dormitory started at around 7.30pm Tuesday night as students were attending evening preps.
It took the concerted effort of fire fighters from Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties to put off the fire before it spread to an adjacent dormitory due to strong winds.
The school has recently been on the spotlight after sending home over 700 students over a Sh44m bank loan borrowed in the past to build a dormitory.
Several students had been summoned on Tuesday, the day the dormitory later burned, over disciplinary issues. Some were sent home.