Seven St Patricks students arrested over arson attack on school

Seven students of St. Patrick’s High School in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County were on Wednesday morning arrested in connection to the Wednesday night fire that gutted down the oldest dormitory in the institution of learning.

ElgeyoMarakwet County Commander, ShariffAbdallah, said that the seven were arrested in the school compound and taken to Iten Police Station for grilling.

He, however, said that it is yet to be established whether the students played a part in the torching of the dormitory in an arson attack suspected to have been conducted by outsiders.

The facility was housing 88 students and all their property went up in flames.

“We believe that the arrested students know something about the arson attack and might have colluded with outsiders to commit the crime, if not directly involved,” noted Shariff.

Elsewhere, Withur Boys Secondary School in Kisumu County was set ablaze Tuesday night with property worth millions of shillings being reduced to ashes.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, one of the witnesses said that the fire started few hours before 10:00pm when students were still in class for evening studies.

The school arson attacks have been on the rise for the last one month with over 80 schools suffering such cases.

Education CS Dr Fred Matiang’i has linked exam cheats to the arson attacks.

Written by Paul Barasa