- The death and the fire incident at the school then forced the institution to close for investigations.
- The fire broke out in one dormitory at about 9.45pm and spread to another.
Image: GEORGE OWITI
Uhuru Secondary School in Nairobi on Monday was closed indefinitely following the death of a student and a dormitory fire.
It is not clear if the death of the student Sunday was connected in some way with the fire that broke out at the school on Sunday night. Two dormitories were burnt.
Police said they are yet to establish the cause of the death.
Witnesses and police said the student had come from the field after a basketball game and told his friends that he was not feeling well.
He went to sleep but fell unconscious before he was taken to the school check bay.
No attendant was present, so he was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Buruburu OCPD Francis Ngugi Kamau said they are investigating the death and the fire.
“The student had come from playing basketball at around 5pm and told fellow students in the hall he was not feeling well," he said.
An autopsy was scheduled.
The death and the fire forced the school to close as investigations go on.
Kamau said the fire broke out in one dorm at 9.45pm and burnt two dorms housing 119 Form 4 students. No injuries were reported.
It broke out five or six hours after the student was pronounced dead.
Fire experts visited the school and started probing the fire.
Elsewhere, police are investigating the cause of a fire at Platinum Packaging Company Ltd in Mlolongo, Machakos county.
The fire threatened houses near the factory as it spread fast fuelled by chemicals inside. Firemen took almost four hours to contain the fire. The warehouse burnt but not the houses.
Police said no injuries were reported but property worth millions of shillings was lost.
One resident complained fire service providers had been demanding advance payments before they could respond to the scene even as the inferno spread.
He said when he called the fire brigade, he was asked to send Sh30,000 before the engines could leave.
"They claimed there was no fuel and needed Sh30,000 before coming. I found it strange, given lives and property were at risk," the resident said.
An official from the fire brigade dismissed the claims as far- fetched and said engines came from Nairobi, Machakos, the military and private ones.
"They all responded professionally he said," declining to be named. He said the resident should provide the name of the person who allegedly asked for fuel money.
"Those claims are lies," he said.
(Edited by V. Graham)