Six students have been arrested and a half litre of petrol reportedly recovered from the scene where a dormitory was razed at Mumbuni Boys Secondary School in Machakos.
Machakos county police commander Patrick Lobolia said the suspects were from Forms 4 and 3 at the school.
Lobolia said the children who spent Thursday night at Machakos police station had been returned to school so that the institution's board of management could decide on their plight.
"The fire broke at exactly midnight Thursday and the matter was reported to Machakos police station by the school's administration. The OCS and his officers swiftly responded and secured the scene," Lobolia told the Star by phone on Friday.
The police boss joined the officers minutes later and found teachers and students trying to put it out using water.
He said the fire brigade joined and together they contained the fire that had consumed a section of the dormitory located at the far end of the school.
No student according to Lobolia got injured in the incident even though all learners were in dormitories when the fire broke out. The dormitory housed 220 Forms Two and Three students.
"A half-litre of petrol used to light the fire was found in a bottle at the scene and six students mostly Forms 3 and 4 arrested in connection to the incident. They have been returned to school for the board of management to decide on their plight," Lobolia said.
He confirmed that it was the second time the school was razed within a week.
Police officers kept vigil at the school until Friday morning following the incident.
Lobolia cautioned students in the county to desist from hooliganism and criminal activities such as razing schools.
"Students should transform and know that they are in school to study, not to engage in crime. They should concentrate on their academics, the reason why they are in school," he said.
He said they would have a meeting with the students' associations in the county as a security committee.
Lobolia told students to inform their teachers of colleagues who might be involved or planning to engage in criminal activities such as torching schools to avoid such recurrences.
This marks the second incident of unrest at the school this term.
Just last week, students were sent home after rioting and causing extensive damage to school property by hurling stones and smashing window panes.
In another incident, a fire razed a dormitory at a school in Mwala subcounty on Thursday.
The incident reportedly occurred while students were in class.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
The cause of the fire was yet to be established by press time.
