Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has called on parents and residents near Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County to help locate and return students who fled the school following a tragic dormitory fire that claimed the lives of 17 pupils.
The Thursday night fire left 14 others seriously injured, and some of the missing students are believed to be in the homes of nearby residents.
Addressing the media from the school, Kindiki urged anyone hosting the students to return them to the school, stressing the importance of accounting for all the children and providing them with the counselling and care they need after the traumatic experience.
“I can confirm that a number of the pupils ran into neighbouring homes, and they need help and counselling. Our appeal is to anybody who could be harbouring a child to bring them for accountability,” Kindiki said.
The CS also directed parents who have picked up their children to report to the command and logistics centre set up at the school to aid in tracking the students.
Returning the learners to school will help in the contact tracing exercise,” Kindiki explained, adding that reconciling the number of missing and found children is crucial to the ongoing operations.
The CS also addressed the ongoing investigation into the cause of the deadly fire. He noted that forensic experts are at the scene gathering evidence to determine what led to the blaze.
“At this juncture, we cannot provide all the information the public is seeking… But we assure you that forensic information is being collected, and we will get to the bottom of it. If anybody was culpable, they will be held to account,” he noted.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have been deployed from Nairobi to assist in piecing together the events leading up to the fire.
