She said the goons stormed the school few minutes past 7:00 am before teachers arrived, flashed pupils out of classrooms before they unroofed them leaving over 220 pupils classless.
“I was still on the way coming when I received a phone call informing me that there were some men in the school demolishing classrooms, on arrival I was shocked to find roofs from all classrooms, kitchen and toilets pulled down with iron sheets strewn everywhere,” explained the headteacher adding that the incident forced the pupils to miss the end term examinations.
Pupils told West Media that a group of three men armed with iron rods and hammers invaded the school and ordered them to carry desks and other furniture to a neighbour’s compound before they climbed on the structures and started demolishing them under instruction from a woman who had accompanied them.
“They were three men and a lady, they came and found us in class before they ordered us to carry our desks to a neighbour’s compound when we returned we found the three men on top of our classrooms demolishing them as the woman supervised,” the pupils said.
According to the school’s PTA chairman Boaz Mutange he was informed of the plan to demolish the school in the morning and he rushed there tried to plead with Mrs. Adaji to shelve her intention for a while to allow him to convene a meeting with parents to discuss the issue but she gave him a deaf ear and order the goons to start demolishing classrooms claiming she had not been paid for the school land.
“I called the village elder Mrs. Lilian Otwere and we rushed to Makutano administration police camp but when we came back with police, we found the structures already pulled down,” said Mr. Mutange.
Parents deprecated the incident and appealed for legal action against the suspects saying the school was established to assist children from Marakusi and Mukuyu sub locations in Lugari Sub County and Kabuyefwe sub location in the neighbouring Bungoma County access school after a majority of them had dropped out following long distance to the
nearest facilities.
“This school has really helped our children it is unfortunate those who did this seem not to care about bringing up an educated society,” they said.
Area Member of County Assembly (MCA) Musa Wangila Makhapila condemned the incident and vowed to follow up the matter to ensure an appropriate action is taken against those culpable.
The MCA who had earlier promised to purchase the land using ward development fund said the County government of Kakamega had entered an agreement with Mr. Alfred Chata Adaji to buy the 2-acre piece of land but it was later established that Mr. Adaji had not processed the title deed thus forcing the process to start afresh with Mr. Jonah Wafula as the sole proprietor. However, the original documents agreed between Mr. Wafula and Adaji was attached to the new agreement between the County government and Mr. Wafula.
Makhapila said the county assembly agreed the cash be paid however the process stalled due to the August 8th general election. He assured Mr. Adaji that he will receive the payment once everything is in order at the County after swearing in the office of the new Chief Executive Committee (CEC) member.
Mrs. Adaji was arrested and locked up at Makutano AP post before being transferred to Turbo police station waiting to be arraigned in court where malicious damage charges would be preferred against her.
