Murang’a remand centre overstretched due to school fires

 

The ongoing unrest in schools has overwhelmed a children's remand centre.

By Wednesday, Murang'a Children's Remand Centre had 104 children, which is beyond its capacity of 50. This came after the Kangema and Murang'a courts remanded secondary school students who could not secure bonds and sureties.

Luke Papa, who is in charge of the remand, said: "Despite the challenges, we have a dedicated team of staff that counsel the children and ensure their rights are not violated."

When The Standard visited the facility, some students were playing while others were being counselled by officials from the children's department.

On Friday last week, Labour and Social Protection Principal Secretary Susan Mochache complained of congestion in children remand facilities in areas that have faced student unrest.

"This is an emerging challenge that the department is coping with especially in areas where student unrest have been witnessed," said Ms Mochache.

The department has listed Manga, Kisumu, Eldoret and Murang'a as the overcrowded children's remand centres after courts in those areas remanded students suspected of being involved in burning dormitories.