Tears, anger, shock as 8 girls die in early morning school fire

A collapsed roof at the centre of a badly burnt dormitory, tears, anger and a country in shock described a night of horror in which helpless schoolgirls tried to rescue themselves from a fire but some did not make it out alive.

By Saturday evening there were conflicting accounts about the exact number of girls who died from the Moi Girls High School Nairobi fire tragedy with the Government placing the death toll at eight.

Also unclear is what was caused the fire at Kabarnet Dormitory which housed 338 Form One students. It was also not established why school authorities had crammed such a huge number of students in a single building. Initial indications show the fire started at the centre of the one storied dormitories.

Police sealed off the affected dormitory but students who spoke to Sunday Standard said the fire started on the ground floor of the building at around 2 am.

It then spread to the upper floor where a majority of the bodies burnt beyond recognition were found yesterday morning. Education and Acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i promised to give a complete report of the tragedy in the next few days.

“We want to be sure that we are able to resolve whatever issues there are because this is a top school in the country. All our agencies are around . . . it cannot be that we are not sure what happened,” he said. “We have taken very fundamental decisions because we don’t want this to be one of the cases where we say we will investigate and then don’t tell you the outcome,” he said.

A reconstruction of events through eyewitness accounts show that most of the students who died or suffered burns were either afraid to jump or were trapped because of the stampede.

Overcrowded dorms

Terry Anne, a Form Three student, shed tears as she narrated how she helplessly watched her friend burn to death. The student who sleeps in an adjacent dormitory says she was woken up at 2:30 am by loud screams and went to confirm if her friend was fine.

“She came to the window with fire on her dress screaming for help. We were out already crying and asking her to jump out,” she said.

“When she went back, a huge cloud of smoke billowed out of the window. We never saw her again,” she recalled.

Another student said because of the heavy smoke those inside could not find their way out.

“It was difficult for them to move downstairs as the smoke was chocking them,” she said.

Ambulances carrying the injured started streaming into the Nairobi Women’s Hospital at around 3 am. In total 51 students were brought to the facility, three of them with over 50 per cent burns, forcing the hospital to seek the help of Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) which admitted one student who had 66 per cent burns. Forty one students were however treated and discharged by 10am.

One student had 18 per cent burns while the rest had minor burns. None of those brought to the facility showed any signs of being injured in the stampede at the affected dormitory.

“Seven of them we are managing under 24 hour observation. We want to make sure that there is nothing wrong with their lungs,” hospital CEO Felix Wanjala told Sunday Standard.

“We are observing them but they may be released tomorrow,” he said.

Among the possible theories being explored by investigators are whether the fire was caused by an electric fault, an arsonist or whether it was an inside job. The fate of two watchmen who were on duty are unclear. These watchmen, who first to rush to the scene, could offer crucial information to help determine the cause of the fire. Yesterday the school’s administration remained mum on the issue as it emerged that the fire brigade arrived almost two hours late as parents demanded answers.

“According to what my daughter has told me, the fire brigade came in at 4 am and I am not happy at all. We need to know if they were sleeping at home or not,” said and angry Augustine Masame.

“One of the girls I am told died when she went back to help her friend,” he said. However, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko insisted the fire brigade arrived on time.

“No no no. In fact there were police officers who were based here because of yesterday’s court ruling and they are the ones who informed us,” he said.

By daybreak anxious parents flooded the school demanding to know if their children were unharmed. An information desk that was quickly put up did not help matters forcing the parents to physically search for their children when it was announced that the school was going to be closed for two weeks.

As time went by anxiety, turned into agony, then anger and finally tears for those who could not find their children.

“The school’s management just wants to counsel us. Counsel us for what? If it is bad news break it first then counsel us because you are not making things better,” wailed one father as Kilimani OCPD Joseph Muthee tried to console him.

At some point tempers flared up when parents who could not find their children tried to force their way past the police cordon into the partially burnt dormitory demanding to see the bodies of their children. A scuffle ensued between them and the officers from the Rapid Deployment Unit who appeared unsure about how to handle the situation.

With their guns still holstered, they tried to push back the parents but they were overpowered.

“What procedures are you telling us and the bodies are lying there? Will the pathologists bring our children back alive?” one woman asked as she wept.

“Yes your girls died but we must identify them. I know what you are going through because I am also a parent but the reality is some are burnt beyond recognition,” Nairobi Police Boss Japheth tried to calm tempers.

Former Senator Beatrice Elachi was also present to confirm whether the daughter of her friend was safe.