Lack of perimeter walls leaves Kwale institutions exposed

KENYA: Most schools in Kwale County do not have perimeter walls.

A spot check by The Standard in the tourism town of Ukunda established that most of the schools do not have a fence, leave alone a gate.

Mkwakwani Primary for example is next to the Ukunda airstrip to the South and a forest to the East, which has hit the headlines for being a bush brothel famously known as Chobingo.

Shamu Primary on its part is at the centre of an area which is most hit by radicalisation with a number of youths having joined Al Shabaab.

With all these, the school does not have a fence. Worse still, a path passes through it and leaders have warned that this might make it an easy target. “We are also concerned that these schools should have a perimeter wall so that learners cannot just get out anyhow. Keeping in mind that our region is drug-prone, most of these students and pupils can fall prey.

We also have a problem with equipment for extinguishing fire,” said Aziz Vumbi the Ukunda ward administrator.

Vumbi adds that most of the schools are not near the road network and systems should be put in place to open them up.

Nominated MCA Michael Mutua told the Standard that the assembly recently passed a motion requiring every premise to have firefighting equipment.

“We now want to pass legislation to enforce that rule so that when disasters come we are better placed to deal with them,” said Mutua.