Kindiki spoke to the media after visiting the school, which was the scene of an early morning fire tragedy that has since claimed the lives of 17 pupils.
Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki on Friday, September 6 addressed the confusion that emerged after Principal Secretary of Basic Education Belio Kipsang directed parents who picked their children from Hillside Endarasha Academy to return them to the institution.
Kindiki spoke to the media after visiting the school, which was the scene of an early morning fire tragedy that has since claimed the lives of 17 pupils.
In a bid to foster accountability, Kindiki directed parents who have been reconnected with their children to ensure they register at the command centre to help in the harmonisation of the data.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki during his visit to Hillside Endarasha Academy on September 6, 2024. /KITHURE KINDIKI
“All parents who picked their children must report to the command and logistics centre so that we can begin the reconciliation of accounting,” said Kindiki.
Furthermore, the Interior CS also directed any person who gave refuge to a Hillside Endarasha Academy pupil to avail them, saying the pupils need medical support and counselling following the tragic incident.
Following the outbreak of the incident, the learners fled from the school after the fire broke out and ran into nearby homes.
The CS who met a team of security agents coordinating operations at the school revealed that the children had yet to come back to the school out of being traumatised from the experience. However, he argued that returning the learners to school will help in contract tracing.
“On behalf of the government, we are appealing to any person who might be giving refuge to a child, to avail that child so that we can be able to account for our children. Those children also require counseling and medical support therefore they should be produced,” Kindiki remarked.
He assured that Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) detectives from Nairobi are at the scene and are in the process of piecing together information
“We may not be able to give conclusive information that I know many want to have. We have agreed to have a structured way of communication so as to provide transparent and accurate information,” Kindiki said.
He appealed for patience from parents and the public, assuring that the government is doing everything possible to recover all the affected children.
Kindiki vowed that in the event any action or inaction by anyone may have contributed to the tragedy, those found to have contributed will be held accountable, further pledging the government’s support for the school through the Ministry of Education to ensure everything that needs to be done is done.
The school’s administration, he noted, is collaborating with security agencies as investigations continue, and that Kindiki’s Ministry of Interior will be coordinating operations at the school with the various agencies expected to undertake various roles.
President William Ruto earlier directed a thorough investigation to be conducted to ascertain the cause of the inferno.
This is as statistics from the Ministry of Education showed that the tragic fire incident that occurred at the school in Kieni West Sub County, Nyeri County, on Thursday night, September 5 left 14 other learners injured and are being attended to in various hospitals.
The school has a total enrolment of 824. Of these, 402 are boys while 422 are girls, further broken down to 156 boys and 160 girls being boarders while the rest are day scholars. All the 156 boys boarders were accommodated in the ill-fated dormitory.
