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NYERI: More than 120 KCSE candidates at a school in Nyeri could have perished on Saturday night had the administration and police not thwarted a plan by three students to burn the school.
The Form Two students at Karima Boys High School were arrested moments after purchasing three liters of petrol with the intention of razing down a dormitory named Kibaki and occupied by Form Fours.
The three, all aged 16, were charged Monday with intent to commit arson before Othaya Resident Magistrate Raymond Kibet who released them on a cash bail of Sh50,000 and a bond of Sh100,000 each, with one surety of a similar amount.
Kibet directed they be remanded at Nyeri Juvenile Prison if they are unable to raise the amount.
The case will be heard on June 25.
Deputy Principal Peter Ndung'u said he received a tip off from a member of the public at around 8pm informing him about students who had bought petrol on claims that it was for one of their teachers.
"We immediately alerted the police and conducted a roll call," said Ndung'u.
Interestingly, two of the students had managed to stealthily return to the school by the time teachers set out to establish the identity of the missing students.
The duo were however not lucky as one of their accomplices had been nabbed by members of the public and handed to the police.
The informer who alerted the Deputy Principal was a bodaboda operator who claims to have unsuccessfully tried to detain one of the students as the others ran away.
"We struggled for some time on the ground but he managed to escape leaving behind his blazer which had an admission number and the school's name," said Michael Komu, who is also a Scouts trainer.
According to Komu, the students approached him that night and requested to be taken to a nearby petrol station and back to school.
He said they wore their blazers inside out which made it hard to instantly tell they were students especially because it was relatively dark.
"Upon arrival at the station where there was light, I became suspicious when I noted their identical grey trousers. I thereafter alerted the school and some of my work colleagues," stated Komu.
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