Friday, March 29, 2024

Kenya: 8 schoolgirls die in dormitory fire

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Isaac Kaledzi
Isaac Kaledzihttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Kaledzi
Isaac Kaledzi is an experienced and award winning journalist from Ghana. He has worked for several media brands both in Ghana and on the International scene. Isaac Kaledzi is currently serving as an African Correspondent for DW.

Eight schoolgirls in Kenya have been confirmed dead in a fire outbreak at their boarding school dormitory in Nairobi on Saturday.

Officials said 10 more have been hospitalized and have not yet identified the cause of the fire.

Parents and some students at Moi Girls School
Seven school girls died in the fire outbreak. Several others have been hospitalized. Photo: Daily Nation

The government has now ordered the school, Moi Girls School to be closed for two weeks to make way for investigations.

The education minister Fred Matiangi told reporters after visiting the school that “A fire broke out at the school at 2:00am in the morning in one of the dormitories,” said Matiangi. He said the school, which has nearly 1,200 students, is “one of our top schools in the country and… (one) that we are very proud of.”

Education CS Fred Matiang'i (left), his PS
Education minister of Kenya Fred Matiang’i (left), visited the Moi Girls School in Nairobi. PHOTO | ANTONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

A 16-year-old schoolgirl, Daniella Maina was quoted by Reuters as saying  “We were sleeping and a girl woke us up and said that our hostel was burning. We were helped to safety by some teachers.”

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Another school girl who was treated told local media “There was thick smoke that made me faint. But I quickly came to my senses and realised my jumper had caught fire. I put it out and managed to escape.”

President Uhuru Kenyatta in a message of condolence to the families of students who died in the fire said “The young women touched by this tragedy are the best of us; diligent, committed to learning, and prepared to make a difference in the life of the country they love.”

Kenya Red Cross personnel attend to a woman who
Kenya Red Cross personnel attend to a woman who fainted Moi Girls School Nairobi on September 2, 2017 where seven students died after fire gutted down a dormitory. PHOTO | ELVIS ONDIEKI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

This is not the first time such a disaster has been recorded in Kenya with 58 schoolboys dieing in a similar dormitory fire in 2001 at Kyanguli Secondary School outside Nairobi. Another eight students died at a school in Homa Bay County in western Kenya in 2012.

Source: Africafeeds.com

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