Moi Girls family unites in grief after school dormitory inferno

Titus Wanjala with his wife Zippy during a an interview with The Standard regarding their daughter, Tasha, a victim of Moi Girl's dormitory fire admitted at Nairobi Women's Hospital.[David Njaaga, Standard]

Tasha Wanjala, 14, is lucky to have escaped the death chamber that was the burning dormitory at Moi Girls' High School.

The Form 1N student, who was among those admitted to the Nairobi Women's Hospital on Saturday after the fire that killed eight of her colleagues, was discharged on Sunday.

But two of her colleagues were still fighting for their lives at the hospital with varying degrees of burns.

According to the hospital chief executive officer, Felix Wanjala, one girl had 66 per cent burns and will require reconstructive surgery in the coming weeks.

"One has 18 per cent burns while the other has 66 per cent and they are currently at the isolation unit of the ICU ward. Right now, we are focused on managing the wounds to ensure that there are no infections," said Wanjala.

But Tasha's parents, Titus and Zippy Wanjala, are glad that they were finally taking their daughter home.

Tasha was treated for inhaling carbon monoxide and, according to her mother, superficial burns.

"She had inhaled carbon monoxide and needed to be under observation," said Zippy.

She said the news of the fire shook her to the core and she was confused after she received a call from her daughter's class teacher.

Guidance and counselling

"Her teacher called to inform us about the fire and they have since offered support in terms of guidance and counselling," she said.

Wanjala said 40 of the girls who were admitted at the hospital had been discharged.

He added that of the five who are still at the hospital, three would be discharged today while two who had severe burns would stay for a few more weeks.

The official said one girl was transferred to Gertrude's Children Hospital upon the request of her family.

"We have offered counselling through our gender-based violence recovery centre and we currently have four of our counsellors on the ground," he said.

The CEO said the hospital is also working with the Ministry of Education to ensure that the hospital bills are taken care of.

Corporate account

"We have a corporate account with the school, which is our neighbour, and so the ministry will chip in as promised to help clear the balance of those discharged as well," he said.

Family and friends hosted a special mass in the wake of the fire in the dormitory that exclusively hosted Form One students.

United in grief, they prayed for the families of the eight girls who had lost their lives as well as the two who were severely burnt and are admitted to the Nairobi Women's Hospital.

The grief-stricken parents, teachers, family, and friends could not say much, with most breaking down during the prayers that were attended by Chief Justice David Maraga.