Barely 25 years ago, Kenya experienced one of the deadliest fire tragedies after an incident at Kyanguli Secondary School in Machakos.
The incident, which claimed the lives of 67 schoolboys, caught the country by surprise and remains fresh in the memory of many Kenyans.
What really happened on that fateful day? Times Digital Kenya takes a walk down memory lane to uncover the events that led to the disturbing incident.
School dormitory set on fire
Located 50 km from Nairobi, Kyanguli Secondary School rarely made headlines in Kenyan news until the incident happened.
It was on March 25, 2001, that news spread all over the country after a group of students set one of the dormitories on fire in a tragic incident that claimed the lives of other innocent students.
According to reports, they poured petrol on the iron-sheet roof of the dormitory in the wee hours of the night, when everyone else was asleep.
They then set it ablaze, and the entire building, which housed over 100 students aged between 14 and 19, was engulfed in flames.
The aftermath saw 67 boys die instantly, some burned beyond recognition, while 28 were seriously injured and 70 were lucky enough to escape.
Who planned and why?
Apparently, months before this disturbing incident, there were clear indications of what was to happen, as there had been several arson attempts on the principal’s office as well as the school library.
For reasons unknown, the school administration did not address the issue at the appropriate time.
Some of the survivors revealed that prior to the incident, some students were unhappy about the cancellation of the previous year’s KCSE examinations due to alleged cheating.
Additionally, the school’s demand for outstanding fee arrears was another issue that angered some students.
According to another survivor who had slept in a different dormitory, there had been a misunderstanding between teachers and students for some time, with allegations of heavy-handedness, which might have been one of the motives.
Two students accused of being behind the incident
Thereafter, Davis Onyango Opiyo and Felix Mambo Ngumbao, who were students at Kyanguli Secondary School, were identified as the perpetrators and charged in connection with the incident that took the lives of 67 fellow students.
According to witnesses in court, Opiyo, then a Form Three student aged 16, approached Ngumbao and laid down a plan to burn down one of the dormitories. As per the testimony, they contributed Sh600 to buy petrol, purchasing about 15 litres on the morning of March 24 while other students were engaged in sporting activities.
With Felix Mambo Ngumbao and Davis Onyango Opiyo charged with murder, the parents of the 67 victims sued the then school principal, his deputy, and the school’s Board of Governors. They also sued the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Attorney General, citing that none had been able to prevent the tragedy.
Fortunately, after 15 years, Joseph Sergon awarded the families Sh40,900,000 on March 3, 2016. According to the ruling, each family was to receive Sh650,000 for pain and suffering.
It is now barely 25 years since the tragic incident at Kyanguli Secondary School, yet the whereabouts of the two murder suspects remain unknown.
Since Justice Ombija ruled their case a mistrial, no court records exist to date showing what ultimately became of the case.
