Maranda High School has been closed indefinitely for the second time within a month over fire related incidents.
The academic giant was closed on Sunday and students ordered to go home immediately.
The decision follows a fire incident reported in the school on Sunday morning.
Our team established that three students have been arrested and held at Bondo police station for interrogation.
Siaya county director of education Nelson Sifuna said the three confessed to have been behind the latest arson. He said that according to the confession from the trio, the suspects had attempted to burn one of the dorms on Saturday night.
“They said that they used six mattresses which they had laid on the ceiling of the building. They tried to light fire using the mattresses six times but it failed,” he said.
According the director, the students decided to execute their plot again on Sunday morning.
“They went back to the dorm during the 10 o’clock tea break on the guise of colleting cups ,” the director said.
The 10 am fire razed the top floor of the two-storey Boaz Owino hostel . The hostel is used by form two students.
Nothing was salvaged from the affected floor, the top education official said.
The county director said the mid morning fire destroyed property belonging to 200 students.
He said school was yet to determine the extent of the damage suffered.
” We resolved to send the students home to be able to ease the anxiety and tension amongst them,” he said.
Sifuna claimed that the students who are suspected to have burnt the hostel were high on drugs.
” They smoked bhang. They said they got motivated to set the building ablaze after taking the drug,” he said.
It was not clear how the students got access to the banned substance with the official saying police were digging out information to establish if the students had Contacts with someone from outside.
The education official told the Star on phone that the students used a match- box they obtained from one of the science labs.
He said the police were also trying to find out who could be aiding the ahrsonists.
” We tried to get information from them on who could be assisting them on these fires but they declined to provide the same but we hope police will be able to unearth it ,” he said.
