Education CS Julius Ogamba has reaffirmed that the cause of the Hillside Endarasha Academy fire that claimed 21 lives will be established.
Speaking during a memorial service in Nyeri on Thursday, Ogamba said the death of the 21 pupils will not be in vain.
Ogamba who read out the names of the 21 pupils, said he did so as a reminder that the names are not just numbers that are going to be part of statistics.
He said the loss of the young lives is not going to be in vain, adding that the ministry has made a decision that the incident has to be the turning point.
"We are keen to establish the cause of the tragedy that cost these young lives," Ogamba said.
"The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is leading in this process and we as a ministry are also carrying out an audit to establish if there was any omission on the part of our officers.
"I want to give the assurance that we will hold to account anybody found culpable for this incident," the CS said.
According to Ogamba, the devastating aftermath of the unfortunate incident threw the entire nation into shock and grief, causing everyone great pain and sorrow especially to the parents.
He termed it as a difficult and trying moment for the immediate families of the deceased children.
Ogamba said the government will continue to give support the families sent off their loved ones.
"We are aware that this cannot wipe away your tears or take away the unimaginable pain of losing a loved one especilly at such a tender age when they were full of promise," Ogamba said.
The CS said the government has already commissioned a nationwide audit of all public and private boarding schools to determine the level of compliance with the school safety manual.
He said action will be taken against schools that will fail to meet the compliance standards.
"We want in the long run to guarantee the confidence of parents, learners and indeed all stakeholders that our schools are not danger zones."
Speaking during the service, Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga said nine of the 21 pupils who perished in the fire will be laid to rest on Thursday (today).
Kahiga said 10 will be laid to rest on Friday with the remaining two being buried on Saturday.
"I would like to inform you that once we leave here, we will have burials in nine homes, we will do so for another 10 pupils and on Saturday we will finish with the remaining two," Kahiga said.
He said the committee which has been in charge since the tragedy occured on September 5 will be holding their final meeting on Monday.
The fire raged through the dormitory of the boarding school, killing boys who were sleeping.
More than 150 pupils were in the dormitory when it caught fire on September 5.
