More parents continue to stream into Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri county demanding for answers from government agencies on the fate of their children.
A fire broke out in a boy's dormitory at the school Thursday night and burnt 17 pupils to death.
The house was a 156-bed capacity hostel but a county official said it had 152 learners at the time of the incident.
Parents who arrived on Saturday at the school were denied entry as detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations combed the dormitory site for evidence to help unravel the cause of the fire.
The Kenya Red Cross Society officials, also locked out of the school compound, have since set up a tent outside the gate where they are coordinating contact tracing.
The society officials are helping relay information to distraught parents and guardians while tending to many of those who are still reeling from shock.
The devastated parents have complained over the slow pace of establishing the whereabouts of missing children.
They said Friday's visit to the school of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki was inconsequential as they are still in the dark on where their children are.
Gachagua confirmed that 37 out of the 152 boys who were sleeping in the burnt dormitory had been reunited with their parents while 27 others are admitted in hospitals.
“The whereabouts of 86 pupils has so far been established,” the DP said, whilst cautioning Kenyans against speculating on the fate of those yet to be accounted for or the cause of the fire.
Earlier on Friday, Kindiki appealed to the local community who may have taken in the pupils who escaped from the ill-fated dormitory to return them for medical check up and accountability purposes.
Lawrence Gachoya, the chairperson of Kenya Private Schools Association in Nyeri county, condoled with parents and the management of the school saying the tragedy had sent shockwaves countrywide.
"We came to bring our condolences to the director of the school and parents. The best we can do is ensure the school continues for the benefit of the learners," he said, adding that the presence of the school in the sleepy village has impacted the local community positively.
"The fact that people living around the school came out in such large numbers in solidarity with parents and the school is an indication of how important it is to them," he said.
Gachoya said as directors of private schools, they take all precaution to ensure the safety of learners.
"Private schools are not in competition with the government. We partner with it for the good of the Kenyan child," he said.
