State Grants Ksh.400k Compensation to Families of Mukumu Girls’ Victims
The government will compensate the parents of students who died following a poisoning incident at Mukumu Girls High School with Ksh.400,000 each.
According to Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu, the government will spend Ksh 1.2 million to compensate the parents of three students who died at school due to food poisoning.
In response to a question from Senator Bonny Khakwale of Kakamega, Machogu stated that, following an investigation, neither the former school principal Fridah Ndolo nor the school administration will face criminal charges.
The multi-agency team that investigated the incident found no criminal liability on the part of the school administration, he told the Senators.
“The multi-agency team has been receiving two reports per week, and as of right now, we do not have any information that would make it possible for us to identify a specific individual for criminal prosecution,” he said.
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Machogu argued that, as of yet, there is no proof that the principal supplied food to the school so that they could charge her.
We gave her a soft landing at the provincial director’s office for the time being because she will retire in six months.
As of May 30, 1962, students had reported to the school, 44 have yet to report, and 56 have requested a transfer from the institution.
Senators questioned, however, why the incident occurred while the manual and guidelines were in place and what measures have been taken to prevent future occurrences.
”A life of a student is one too many already and it should gather the collective rage of the Ministry of education and all those responsible, if those guidelines were in place what caused the breach that led to the deaths, and what measures have the ministry put in place to ensure that we don’t lose a life of any other student?” posed majority leader Aaron Cheruyot.
“One area that has been identified as a weakness is that guidelines and directives are issued, but who follows to ensure that they are enforced? That is what we have addressed by empowering education officers to move around and enforce them,” Machogu said.
State Grants Ksh.400k Compensation to Families of Mukumu Girls’ Victims
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