kymnjoro
Elder Lister
“The hopes, dreams, and aspirations of parents—that their children would one day shine and care for them in old age—were cruelly shattered and consumed by flames…” In early March 2001, Davis Onyango Opiyo, then a 16-year-old form 3 student, approached Felix Mambo Ngumbao with a plan to burn down a dormitory in the school because he just does not like the new principal Mr. David Mutiso. Who was this guy Felix ?
Hold on—because before the tragedy, there had already been a failed attempt to set the principal’s office and the library on fire. The reason? Students were unhappy with what they were served in the mornings—poor quality food that they couldn’t stand.
Acting on behalf of his team, D-Double O- as he enjoyed to be called, remarked that the boys were still hurting from cancelled KCSE results from the previous year. A successful harambee covertly went down and a lump sum of ksh.600 was collected.
They then took a back seat and waited. On an unsuspected Saturday March 24 during a timely sports event, the two boys Double-O and Felix Mambo. Remember him? Now you know. Alright. Hustlers, you can imagine where the economy is if that money afforded them 15 litres of petrol.
The petrol is sneaked in and all seems to be going well until some students ran to the authorities complaining of some smell which could most likely be of petrol.A search machinery led by the hated school principal, the watchmen and the head boy fell short of glory that night.... School routine continues as normal until the Sunday 25th at the ungodly 1:00 a.m. When the night was pitch dark and unmonitored. Fire went up. All exits had been sealed from outside. The rest of the school population were ambushed from sleep by screams and cries of help....
Out of the 130 students accommodated in the dormitory, 67 lost their lives, while the survivors were left to endure trauma and recount the ordeal. On April 9, 2001, Ngumbao and Opiyo were brought before the court, facing múrdér charges. The trial stretched on for nearly two years. In his written statement, Ngumbao confessed to helping finance the purchase of petrol but denied any role in the actual arson. He claimed that, just like the other students, he was startled awake by the screams. At first, Ngumbao admitted to being involved in the whole scheme, but he later withdrew his confession, claiming it had been made under pressure from police officers in Athi River.
Judge Robert Mutitu, however, wondered why the suspects had never raised this issue with him, the magistrate, or the OCPD in Athi River. After two years of hearings, Judge Mutitu stepped down from his position...
This came during a government purge of judges implicated in corruption scandals, an exercise known as "radical surgery." Justice Nicholas Ombija later took over the case and, on December 4, 2006, declared it a mistrial, bringing the proceedings to an end.
The school still retains the same name. The site of the burnt dormitory is no more and has been replaced by a grass lawn and timber which serves as a memorial park.67 of the students were buried in six mass graves in the school compound.May their soul continue resting in peace
Hold on—because before the tragedy, there had already been a failed attempt to set the principal’s office and the library on fire. The reason? Students were unhappy with what they were served in the mornings—poor quality food that they couldn’t stand.
Acting on behalf of his team, D-Double O- as he enjoyed to be called, remarked that the boys were still hurting from cancelled KCSE results from the previous year. A successful harambee covertly went down and a lump sum of ksh.600 was collected.
They then took a back seat and waited. On an unsuspected Saturday March 24 during a timely sports event, the two boys Double-O and Felix Mambo. Remember him? Now you know. Alright. Hustlers, you can imagine where the economy is if that money afforded them 15 litres of petrol.
The petrol is sneaked in and all seems to be going well until some students ran to the authorities complaining of some smell which could most likely be of petrol.A search machinery led by the hated school principal, the watchmen and the head boy fell short of glory that night.... School routine continues as normal until the Sunday 25th at the ungodly 1:00 a.m. When the night was pitch dark and unmonitored. Fire went up. All exits had been sealed from outside. The rest of the school population were ambushed from sleep by screams and cries of help....
Out of the 130 students accommodated in the dormitory, 67 lost their lives, while the survivors were left to endure trauma and recount the ordeal. On April 9, 2001, Ngumbao and Opiyo were brought before the court, facing múrdér charges. The trial stretched on for nearly two years. In his written statement, Ngumbao confessed to helping finance the purchase of petrol but denied any role in the actual arson. He claimed that, just like the other students, he was startled awake by the screams. At first, Ngumbao admitted to being involved in the whole scheme, but he later withdrew his confession, claiming it had been made under pressure from police officers in Athi River.
Judge Robert Mutitu, however, wondered why the suspects had never raised this issue with him, the magistrate, or the OCPD in Athi River. After two years of hearings, Judge Mutitu stepped down from his position...
This came during a government purge of judges implicated in corruption scandals, an exercise known as "radical surgery." Justice Nicholas Ombija later took over the case and, on December 4, 2006, declared it a mistrial, bringing the proceedings to an end.
The school still retains the same name. The site of the burnt dormitory is no more and has been replaced by a grass lawn and timber which serves as a memorial park.67 of the students were buried in six mass graves in the school compound.May their soul continue resting in peace
