• The investigators say the electric fault theory will bring them back to the question of how well the dormitory facilities at the institution are maintained.
• The dormitory was housing Grade 5 to Grade 8 pupils.
Image: LEAH MUKANGAI
Police are pursuing a theory of bulb explosion as the main cause of fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri that claimed the lives of 21 pupils.
According to sleuths aware of the probe, the account given by the pupils indicate the sparks from the exploded bulb landed on a mattress and started the fire that spread fast.
It was the bulb near the dorm entrance.
The investigators say the electrical fault theory will bring them back to the question of how well the dormitory facilities at the institution are maintained.
The dormitory was housing Grade 5 to Grade 8 pupils.
The pupils say they tried to put out the fire using water but when their efforts proved futile, they started waking up their schoolmates. Some were not lucky and they were burnt beyond recognition.
The section where the fire started had 48 pupils sleeping in 24 double-decker beds, 12 beds lined up on the right side and 12 on the left.
Sleuths say there is a strong indication the rooms did not have adequate escape avenues in case of an emergency and there were no fire extinguishers.
The team led by Deputy Director of DCI John Onyango said they will conduct postmortem, which will explain how the pupils died.
The team has recorded statements from the teachers, including the matron, who was in the razed dormitory.
They have also informally talked to some of the survivors of the Thursday night fire who said they saw sparks from a bulb near the main entrance before the fire started.
It took more than five hours to contain the fire. The 21 pupils who died were aged between nine and 12 years.
At least 25 others are admitted to hospital.
Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said 19 bodies were recovered at the site, while two died in hospital.
Out of the 156 boys in the dorm, 135 have been accounted for, either at home or in hospital, he said.
"It is a catastrophe beyond our imagination," Mwaura said at a press briefing.
Chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor said the postmortem will begin on Tuesday.
Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga has instructed police to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine the circumstances what led to the fire.
"Assess whether or not the tragedy may have resulted from negligence and/or recklessness of any responsibility holders," his office said in a statement.
"Any person found culpable towards the fire tragedy shall be expediently taken through the due process of a criminal trial."
Homicide investigators and forensic experts are at the school.
Meanwhile, residents of Isiolo town at the weekend barricaded roads and stoned vehicles to protest over the alleged lack of a functional fire engine.
This was after a dormitory at Isiolo Girls went up in flames, destroying valuables belonging to 158 students.
The fire incident happened on Saturday at 7pm.
Fire engines from the Kenya Defence Forces and Kenya Airports Authority helped put out the fire.
At the same time, at least seven public secondary schools in Machakos county have been closed indefinitely in the past one week after fires triggered students unrest.
Mumbuni Boys in Machakos Town subcounty was closed indefinitely on Saturday after a fire broke out and torched part of the school.
Students were released following a long night of unrest on Friday that led to property destruction.
Other schools affected in the county are Muthetheni Girls, Masii Girls, Machakos School, Nyayo Girls, Masinga Boys and Mtituni S A Secondary.
Dormitories were razed in Lukenya Girls Centre of Excellence, Nyayo Girls and Masii Girls secondary schools.