There was drama in Nganyuthe village in Endarasha, Nyeri County when members of the local community stopped youth protesters from accessing the Hillside Endarasha Academy.
The “Occupy Hillside Endarasha Academy” demonstration was organised to demand answers on the cause of the fire that claimed the lives of 21 students at the school on Thursday night.
Armed with machetes, stones, and other blunt objects, a group of villagers barricaded the roads and inspected vehicles attempting to access the school grounds.
The protesters, who were dressed in black, were stopped from getting to the school’s gate by villagers who had blocked the road using stones.
The protesters managed to reach the gate around 2pm but the police blocked them from entering the school compound.
According to Keziah Wanjiku, a young demonstrator, they had planned to have peaceful demonstrations but the villagers blocked them from the school.
“We have been here since morning. We only have our smartphones, but the villagers are armed with all types of weapons, trying to block us from accessing the school,” she said.
She added that those who were participating in the demonstration wanted to know what happened and who was responsible for the tragedy.
“We are not here to fight the parents nor the members of the community. We are joining them in the mourning of the lost children. I am a young parent and I am concerned about the safety of our children in schools. The children’s families deserve answers,” she said.
Judy, another young mother who was participating in the demonstrations, said the government was not giving credible information on the cause of the fire and the whereabouts of missing pupils.
“We are not here to fight anybody. We want accountability and facts,” she said.
She added the demonstrations will continue until someone is held accountable for the deaths of the 21 children.
“We have to ask hard questions since nobody is trusting what the government is telling us,” she said.
Kasmuel McOure, an activist, said the government and the school administration should answer questions on the cause of the fire.
“We have been denied access to the school. The people around us do not want us to get answers on the cause of the fire. They have barricaded the roads and there are armed police officers at the gate. We will go back to the drawing board and organise a total shutdown of schools in the country,” he said.
He added that there is a lot of information that the government was hiding from the public.
“It will not be business as usual. Someone should be held accountable,” he said.
Members of the local community, however, said they were happy with how the government was carrying out investigations into the tragedy.
Naomi Watetu, a parent whose child is in Grade 5 at the school, said they were waiting for the final report from the government.
“As parents, this is our school, and despite the tragedy, it will remain our school,” she said.
Ann Wanjiru said the allegations the demonstrators were making were inaccurate.
“We are all in shock from the tragedy, but that does not mean that we will entertain youths who are not even from this village to come and hold demonstrations here. We are a peaceful community,” she said.
