Six girls from Loreto Girls High School
in Limuru were on Thursday morning
arrested following night riots on
Wednesday.
The school was also closed after the
students engaged in running battles
with regular and anti-riot police.
All students in forms one to three
classes were sent home by the school
administration through a directive
from the county director’s office.
This comes only 13 days before the
official school closing date of
November 20.
A text message sent to parents at
11pm, Wednesday night read: ‘The
county director has closed the school
today. Pick your daughter together
with all her luggage tomorrow
Thursday November 7 by 7.00am.’
Students who come from far flung
areas like Mombasa, Lamu and
Bungoma complained that their
parents were in no position to report
on short notice to the school to pick
them.
However, guards at the gate said they
had received strict instructions that
all forms 1-3 students must leave the
school in the company of a parent or
guardian.
“How will I carry my mattress, metal
box and other personal belongings
from Limuru to Mombasa?” wondered
one student.
FEES INCREASE
Area police boss Michael Mbaluku
said the students complained of an
increase in school fees from Sh75,000
to Sh90,000 while they were not
served chicken and snacks twice a
week as promised.
They also complained that they did
not go for a half-term break and that
their parents were being mistreated,
searched and abused on visiting days.
Mr Mbaluku added that police were
forced to shoot in the air when the
girls became unruly in the night
destroying the locks of a police van.
They also broke the windscreen and
car lights of the administration police
(AP) commander's vehicle and broke
windows at the principal's office.
“We have arrested six form three
students who will be arraigned in
court. We will also arrest more
students since we have identified
them and are waiting for them here
at the gate as they leave,” said Mr
Mbaluku.
By noon Thursday, many students
were still within the school compound,
not knowing where they would spend
the night.
They also demanded for an audit of
the school's books of accounts and
transfer of the principal.
The principal Ms Margaret Ruinge
was spotted in her office speaking to
the police but declined to speak to the
press.
LEADERSHIP PROBLEMS
A parent to a form three student who
was among hundreds of parents who
arrived at the school alleged there
was a big problem in the leadership
of the school.
School fees was being raised
arbitrarily almost every end of the
term and parents who complained
were victimised, he said.
“In Loreto, when a parent speaks out,
they are victimised and branded as a
bad parent while the school
administration continues to increase
school fees every end of the year,” the
parent said.
She added that it was unreasonable
for parents living far from Limuru to
receive a message in the middle of the
night asking them to come and pick
their daughters early in the morning.
“We don't what happened because all
parents and guardians received only a
text message asking them to pick their
daughters with no explanation over
what happened prior to the early
closure of the school,” said Arnold
Magina who arrived in the school to
pick up his sister.
Form four students were worried that
the chaos in the school would affect
their performance in the on-going
KCSE exams.
They said the night running battles
with the police which started
Wednesday from 6pm, had affected
their revision for the Chemistry Paper
2 scheduled for Thursday morning.
There was however no disruption of
the form four national exam.
NOT EATEN
Students leaving the school claimed
they had not eaten supper or
breakfast, and that the last meal they
had was lunch on Wednesday
afternoon.
There were also claims that one of the
teachers suspected to have been
sympathetic with the students'
complaints was also arrested and
later released.
OCPD Mbaluku said that problems in
the school started on Sunday, a
visiting day, when the school
administration insisted that parents
must undergo thorough searches
before they could see their daughters,
an act that angered the students.
Later, after the parents and guardians
left, the students were also searched
to ensure they had no illegal
substances on them like drugs, added
OCPD Mbaluku.
“The searches were normal routine to
ensure the school remained secure
especially during this time in our
country when there are security
concerns,” said Mr Mbaluku.
Officials from Kiambu County
education office and the sub-county
security committee arrived in the
school in an attempt to calm the
situation.
But the students reportedly attacked
them.
Anti-riot police with sniffer dogs were
seen standing guard in the school as
students left.
“We had a peaceful demonstration
and it was wrong for the police to use
force on us and beat us,” one of the
students said.

Posted by Blyth on 12:51. Filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0