Sorrow as Hillside Academy fire victims remembered

Families sobbed as the funeral service for the 21 pupils who perished in a fire at Hillside Endarasha academy proceeded. 

The funeral service was held in Kieni constituency and graced by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka among other political leaders.

While politicians and speakers gave their sympathies as they eulogised the children, it was Education CS Migosi Ogamba's speech that affirmed the reality.

Ogamba read the victims' names one by one, “to remind all that 21 were not just numbers and will not just be statistics”.

With the CS's words, the finality of their perishing dawned - and it was too much for some. 

The pain was overwhelming. 

One suddenly collapsed from her seat, writhing in pain as the wound seemed to be ripped open afresh.

Another screamed in sadness at the back of the tent as the pain sank.

“It is real my boy is gone. It is real I will not see him again. I thought it was a dream,” a man said, under the grip of the pain of loss.

Nine of the 21 pupils were buried on Thursday, 10 will be laid to rest on Friday and the remaining two on Saturday.

The dawn fire, on September 5, started in a dormitory that housed 150 pupils. 

Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga said 141 pupils survived but had all their belongings gutted by the inferno.

Two others had injuries and are still in hospital. 

The government will continue to support the families as they send off the victims.

"We are aware that this cannot wipe away your tears or take away the unimaginable pain of losing a loved one, especially at such a tender age when they were full of promise," Ogamba said.

The loss of the young lives would not be in vain, Ogamba said, adding that the ministry has decided that the incident marks a turning point.

"We want in the long run to guarantee the confidence of parents, learners and indeed all stakeholders that our schools are not danger zones," Ogamba said.

In an effort to preempt and managing safety in schools, the CS has commissioned a national audit of all institutions to determine their adherence to safety guidelines.

Action will be taken against schools that fail to meet the compliance standards.

Investigations were still ongoing to determine the cause of the fatal fire, the CS said, promising that action would be taken.

"The Directorate of Criminal Investigations 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," he said. 

"We are keen to establish the cause of the tragedy that cost these young lives." 

If his ministry's officials had slept on the job and occasioned the fire, they will be held accountable, the CS assured.

"I want to give the assurance that we will hold to account anybody found culpable for this incident." 

Kalonzo asked the ministry to enforce the requirements that facilitate students' passage to safety in times of emergency.

He alluded to his experience managing the deadly fire at Kyanguli Boys High school in the early 2000s. 

“I also handled the Kyanguli tragedy when I was the Minister for Education and we came up with the approach not to allow doors to be closed from the inside to allow the children to escape,” he said.

Safety regulations must be at the forefront to prevent such catastrophes in the future.

“I was going to propose a name in memory of these little ones here—Hillside Endarasha Memorial School. Let’s remember these kids," he said.

Kalonzo also pledged his support to those affected. 

“We are going to stand with them and the parents of this school.”