Property valued at over Kshs. 400,000 was destroyed after a dormitory at St. John the Baptist Likuyani Boys High School in Likuyani Sub County, Kakamega County, was razed down.
According to the school Principal Mr. Mwanyumba Tweni the fire, whose cause was yet to be established, broke out in one of the dormitories at about 7:50 pm when students were in class for evening studies. The principal told journalists that efforts by the students and available staff managed to contain the fire and prevented it from spreading and
engulfing the whole building.
Though nobody was injured in the evening inferno, the principal regretted the loss of personal stuff including clothes and books that belonged to the students. “We are extremely sad to note that about 60 students out of 150 who were staying in the affected dormitory have lost their beddings, books, clothes and other personal effects,” said Mwanyumba who is now calling on stakeholders and well-wishers to step in and help the
school cope with the situation estimating the total damage at over Kshs. 400, 000.
Speaking when he visited the school Likuyani ward MCA Brian Mafunga regretted the incident and appealed to the Kakamega County government to step in and help the affected students, “I will present the case to Kakamega County disaster management
committee so that the affected students can get some assistance,” said Mafunga.
Area MP Dr. Enoch Kibunguchy has also promised to allocate funds from the National Government Constituency Development Fund emergency kitty to renovate the affected dormitory.
“Likuyani Boys High School is one of our best performing schools and we can’t allow learning to be disrupted, we will allocate money from the emergency kitty to renovate the burnt dormitory,” said Kibunguchy who also appealed for an investigation to establish the cause of the fire.
A section of parents and locals who rushed to the scene complained about the absence of firefighting equipment in Likuyani Sub County. “It’s regrettable that the nearest place we can get firefighters is in Eldoret, in the neighbouring Sub County, and they won’t respond
immediately when they are called upon to provide assistance in a different County,” said locals, who appealed to the Kakamega County government to put up a fire station in every Sub County.
Police officers from Matunda and Turbo police stations have launched investigations into the incident.
