By Bonface Mulyungi

The DNA sampling exercise aimed at helping identify the bodies of the 16 students who perished in the Utumishi Girls Academy fire in Gilgil, Nakuru County, began on Saturday, albeit after a long wait for parents who had turned up as early as Friday morning.

Parents who had gathered at the Naivasha Sub-County Referral Hospital Mortuary were later instructed to travel back to the school, lamenting that they were being moved in circles without clear communication.

This was the situation at Utumishi Girls Academy on the second day after the dormitory fire that claimed 16 young lives.

After a long wait for answers, parents who were yet to see their children grew increasingly impatient.

Threatening to storm the school, some parents demanded answers from authorities over the whereabouts and identities of their children.

Similar scenes were witnessed at Naivasha Funeral Home in Nakuru County, where parents who had arrived for the planned DNA sampling exercise were instead met with long delays, only to later be told to return to the scene of the incident.

Among those waiting was John Muiruri, the father of one of the students, who sat through the heavy silence of grief and uncertainty as he waited for forensic officers to shed light on the fate of his 13-year-old daughter.

For many parents, the uncertainty has been unbearable. Not knowing the fate of their children has only deepened the anguish.

The exercise eventually got underway later in the afternoon at the school, with forensic experts collecting DNA samples from distraught parents in a bid to establish the identities of the victims.

But amid the pain, hope persists, especially for parents who still believe their children may be among those found alive.

“I still hope my child is among those being cared for elsewhere and will be found safe,” said a parent.

source: citizendigital