• Detained student was reportedly not in class during the fire, showed up smelling of petrol and shoes filled with fuel.
• Dormitory housed 117 students, all their property destroyed; principal says school will not be closed.
A dormitory at Kemeloi Boys' High in Nandi South was on Wednesday night petrol-bombed sending panic across the school fraternity.
Students were in class for their night preps when the fire engulfed Kilimanjaro dormitory and burnt all their belongings.
Nandi South police boss John Owuoth on Thursday said they were holding one student who was assisting DCI officers with investigations.
“The student was not in class at the time of the incident and when he showed up, his clothes smelled of petrol and his shoes were filled with fuel," Owuoth said.
He added, “He was unable to explain where he was and how he came into contact with the highly flammable material.”
The student – a KCSE candidate – was admitted at the school after being expelled from Tambach High las year for allegedly leading a strike.
The dormitory houses 117 students. No student was injured.
Principal Kiptoo Kimosop said the school was yet to estimate the value the destroyed properties.
He said they were investigating five other students known to be associates of the detained learner.
Governor Stephen Sang donated 120 mattresses and the same number of blankets and bedsheets to the victims of the fire.
He asked the school to co-operate with the police and ensure that all those involved were punished.
Sang asked students not happy with boarding schools to transfer to day-schools near their homes.
“It’s unfortunate students engage themselves in such heinous acts simply because they want to go home," the governor said.
Kimosop said the school would not be closed. He appealed to well-wishers to assist the institution in repairing the destroyed dormitory.
Edited by R.Wamochie