Tragic Loss: Two Karigini School Students Succumb to Alcoholic Poisoning
Two Form students from Karigini Mixed Secondary School, Tharaka Nithi, have died, and others were admitted after consuming alcohol suspected to contain ethanol.
Parents and neighbors have already convened outside the school, seeking clarity on the well-being of the students.
Police officers also arrived at the scene to commence investigations into the incident.
Area Police Commander Joseph Ole Manei, who spoke to the press, confirmed that other students who had consumed the substance were rushed to a nearby hospital.
Reports indicated that 13 students were involved in the incident that happened at the mixed secondary school.
Consequently, eight male and three female students were rushed to the hospital for treatment. Two students, however, succumbed.
The incident elicited concern on social media, with Kenyans online revealing the dangers associated with absolute ethanol at school laboratories.
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“Ethanol is quite dangerous, especially the one sold to school laboratories. They’re highly concentrated ie 100 percent because the technician is expected to dilute them for use. Supposedly the one in beer is between 11-41 percent how do you then take the one whose breakeven is directly proportional to 1? Your liver can’t act on such,” Ian Gitonga commented.
Other Kenyans also raised concerns regarding the parents of these children who work diligently to pay school fees, assuming that their students are studying in school, only to discover that they are engaging in such heinous acts.
“The parents of these children think their children are working hard in school. It’s only God who can have mercy on us,” a Facebook user known as Nyambura stated.
While alcohol contains ethanol, laboratory ethanol contains impurities such as benzene or methanol, which can be very harmful to one’s body.
The case comes as schools are preparing for national examinations, which are set to commence at the end of October, with Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) students sitting their exams from October 23 to November 24, 2023.
On the other hand, the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) and the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) will begin on Monday, October 30, and conclude on Wednesday, November 1.
Tragic Loss: Two Karigini School Students Succumb to Alcoholic Poisoning
