Acting Inspector General of Police (IG) Gilbert Masengeli has assured the country that the police will unravel the cause of the Hillside Endarasha Academy fire that left 17 pupils dead.
While consoling the victims, he said investigations have already commenced with teams drawn from the National Police Service (NPS) on the ground.
“The unfortunate tragedy at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri is already being investigated and we will give a comprehensive update once investigations are completed,” said Masengeli.
The Ag. IG was speaking when he met Regional and County Police Commanders for a consultative meeting at the Coast Regional Police Headquarters in Kizingo, Mombasa.
Deputy Director of DCI John Onyango is leading a team of investigators at the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri.
Onyango drove to the scene Friday in the company of the head of the homicide unit Martin Nyuguto and other experts from the disaster unit with the aim of unraveling the truth behind the fire.
They want to know who was in the dormitory at the time the fire broke out.
Director DCI Mohamed Amin said he had dispatched Onyango and a team from the homicide and forensic department to join the probe team.
The team is supposed to comb through the debris at the scene as part of efforts to establish the cause of the fire.
The team cordoned off the affected dormitory and invited officials from Kenya Power to join them in efforts to establish the saga.
Other teams from Nyeri also supplemented the team in the probe.
Officials said the affected pupils were in grades four to six and some were burnt beyond recognition.
It will take further tests to identify some of the bodies, officials said.
Back in Mombasa, Masengeli said the NPS was at hand to tackle vices synonymous with the Coast region and assured Coast residents that the NPS has put in place key strategic measures to combat crime and guarantee public safety.
He noted that of key priority was the proverbial smuggling of contraband and illicit drugs into the country through porous borders, an issue the NPS is at hand to counter and bring to a halt tactically.
“Operations have been significantly enhanced to ensure movement of trucks accessing the country are well managed so that no contraband and illicit drugs from our neighbours make their way into the country,” said Masengeli.
Masengeli was accompanied by Mohamed Amin, the Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), and Eliud Langat, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG).
In the wake of increased petty crime in Mombasa Central Business District (CBD) and its environs, the Ag. IG assured residents of speedy countermeasures to deal with the same and bring the culprits to book.
“With regard to the issue of petty crimes occasioned by muggings and phone snatching, most perpetrators have been arrested and we call on the general public to offer any information that might assist the police,” added Masengeli.
