Four days after the Utumishi Girls Academy fire tragedy, parents came face to face with the full reality and impact of the incident as they viewed the charred remains of their loved ones.
Some who could not bear the pain fainted, and others were left tongue-tied as the doors of the mortuary were opened for the families to view the remains of the 16 who perished.
The reality of the pain that the minors went through before dying was evident in their relatives' faces as Red Cross staff moved in to offer support and counseling.
At the mortuary, emotions ran high as the relatives, friends, and even media personnel tried to grapple with the tragedy that had left tens of unanswered questions.
The exercise that was carried out by three government pathologists also saw the DNA samples from the bodies and the relatives collected as part of the identification exercise.
And at the end of the exercise, only three of the sixteen bodies were identified, as the others were burnt beyond recognition.
Despite identifying the bodies, the family of the three will, however, have to wait for DNA tests for all the bodies before the State releases them for a burial.
This came as the government formed a joint committee to plan the burial after a joint mass in a venue yet to be identified.
According to one of the relatives, Njoke Thimba from Embu, the bodies were in bad shape and badly mutilated, making it hard to identify them.
Thimba, who lost a niece, called on the State to expedite the identification process so that the parents could have peace and bury their daughter.
“Of the bodies, only three have been identified as the others were burnt beyond recognition, and we have been told that the identification process will take time,” he said.
He added that government officers had informed them that a funeral committee had been formed and would work with the affected parents.
One of the Muslim families was, however, left between a rock and a hard place after identifying their daughter, but could not immediately bury her as per their religious beliefs.
According to Sheikh Hussein Were from Gilgil, the family had been able to identify their daughter Zuhra Ramah, but they had to wait for a DNA test and postmortem.
Were said that they fully respected the government decision but called for the release of the body so that she could be buried in the family’s home in Diani.
“We have been told that the DNA tests will take longer, and we are wondering why the delay, yet we have positively identified our daughter,” she said.
Another parent, Sheila Kipsion from Kericho, told of the family’s agony after viewing the condition of the bodies.
She termed the experience as a scene from a bad horror movie, adding that the bodies were in bad condition and totally unrecognizable.
“The condition of the bodies tells the whole story and the pain that our children went through, and all that we are asking for is justice,” she said.
This was echoed by another relative, Lilian Kariuki, who termed the incident as too painful, adding that this could take years to sink in.
“All that we are demanding is justice for the families so that those behind this incident can be a lesson to others,” she said.
A youth leader, Joseph Kuria, alleged that there was radicalisation in the school and called for vetting of students to avoid similar incidents in the future.
“Some of these incidents are caused by radicalisation, and it's time that the Ministry of Education addressed this issue before we lose more children,” he said.
