The students were briefly held at Kenol Police Station. [Courtesy]
Four students of Gititu Secondary School in Gatanga, Murang’a County were on Wednesday briefly arrested for being drunk. Their photos have been circulating on the interwebs for the last two days.
The two girls and two boys were going home after the school closed on Tuesday, December 14.
Residents of Kenol alerted the police after the teenagers, clad in school uniform, asked for directions to the main bus stage. “They were drunk, and couldn’t communicate coherently,” said a resident of Kenol Town.
Minors taken to Kenol Police Station
Murang’a South Sub-County Police Commander Alexander Shikondi told The Standard that the minors were taken to Kenol Police Station, but were released shortly thereafter.
“The students needed medical attention and counselling. We, therefore, alerted the principal of Gititu Secondary School, Francis Mutemwa, who sent representatives to pick the teenagers. The children’s parents were also alerted,” Shikondi said.
“The incident is very unfortunate. I have since handed them over to their guardians. I hope they’ll get the help that they dearly need,” principal Mutemwa told The Standard.
Area police boss Shikondi said investigations have been launched to establish who sold alcohol to the learners.
Bars selling alcohol to students
Mary Njambi, a resident of Kenol Town, told The Standard that it was commonplace to see some bars in the area selling alcohol to students in uniform.
“Police should crack down on the errant bar owners. Minors shouldn’t be allowed to set foot in bars, let alone consume alcohol,” said Njambi.
On Tuesday 14 December, 16 students from the same school, who were heading to Nairobi aboard a Kenya Mpya bus, were involved in an accident in Makuyu Town on the Kirimiri-Gakungu Road. The driver of the vehicle died at the scene, police said.
The injured students were taken to various hospitals, including Murang’a, Kenol, Thika and the Kenyatta National Hospital.
Gititu Mixed Secondary School is a county-level high school in Gatanga Sub-County, Murang’a County.
