Parents get Sh40m for students killed in Kyanguli fire

The families of 63 Kyanguli Secondary School students who perished in a fire 15 years ago were yesterday awarded Sh40 million compensation.

High Court judge Joseph Sergon found the government, the school’s then headmaster David Mutiso and deputy Stephen Kasyoka liable of the arson in April 2001.

The families have been pursuing compensation since 2002.

They will each get Sh650,000.

“It was clear from the evidence there were previous arson attempts, which the school heads knew about,” the judge said.

Sergon said the administration should have taken appropriate measures to prevent the death of the students.

The blaze victims’ bodies were burned beyond recognition.

They were buried in six mass graves in a ceremony attended by President Daniel Moi.

The students behind the fire were angry over the annulment of final exam results and demands they pay school fees.

Signs of unrest begun on March 23, 2001, when leaflets were posted on notice boards asking the students to boycott assembly.

The children had broken into the school canteen and ransacked it.

The judge said the administration should have called the police or sent students home.

Sergon said the school heads were aware of the tension but disregarded the studens’t well-being.

They are “responsible for the painful deaths”.

He blamed the institution over the poor infrastructure, saying it allowed a stretched dormitory to hold more than 140 students yet it had a capacity of 62 beds.

There was only one escape route.

Despite the magnitude of the incident, the government took seven years to put in place safety guidelines for disaster and risk reduction in school, Sergon said.

But parent Beth Kalekye said: “Even though justice has prevailed we lost our children.”