Five students linked to dorm fires in Homa Bay arrested

A dormitory was burnt at Karabok Mixed Secondary School in Rachuonyo South Sub-county on November 11, 2021. [James Omoro, Standard]

Five students linked to various dorm fires within Homa Bay county have been arrested.

Three of the five were arrested on Thursday afternoon for allegedly burning a dormitory at Karabok Mixed Secondary School in Rachuonyo South Sub-county.

The dormitory which accommodates 120 students was burnt down when students had just gone to their classrooms for their morning lessons.

The school’s management said although no student was injured in the incident, nothing was salvaged.

Police moved to the scene and conducted investigations which led to the arrest of the three.

Homa Bay County Commissioner Moses Lilan told reporters they got information that linked the students to arson.

“The preliminary investigations have unearthed leads which link the students to burning the dormitory,” Lilan said.

The students are being held at Oyugis Police Station for more interrogation.

The two others were arrested on Wednesday after they were linked to another dorm fire incident at Ringa Boys High School in Rachuonyo Sub-County.

The two are being held at Othoro Police Station.

As parents wake up to the reality of cases of indiscipline among learners that have been linked to an increase in dorm fires, Police boss Lilan said the students who will be arrested will be handled like any criminal.

“There is no option other than charging the student because arson is a crime,” he added.

Lilan said they have stopped the trend of sending students who have burnt schools home. Instead, every student must bear responsibility for their actions.

On Monday, Education Principal Secretary Julius Jwan warned that students who burn schools will not get certificates of good conduct.

Jwan also said the government will not spend funds on the construction of dormitories that have been destroyed by students.

More than 20 dormitories in various schools have been burnt within one month, with security agencies working to unravel the mystery behind the fires that have seen a teacher accused in one of the incidents.

Some leaders and stakeholders have blamed the unrest in secondary school on the Ministry of Education, the Judiciary, parents and teachers.

Students returned to school on October 11 after a one-week holiday, and some of them have already been sent back home after the fires.