The 16 year-old student who was arrested on September 28th stunned the court when he told the magistrate that he had no reason to torch the dormitories.

In the first count, he was charged for setting ablaze two dormitories damaging property worth Ksh2 million on September 12th this year at around 8 pm. The Prosecution led by chief inspector Joseph Wanjohi told the court that on the material day, the accused was left behind in the dormitory as the rest of the other students went for their evening classes.

The court heard that on the night of the incident the accused lit a blanket which started the fire in the dormitory. He then rushed out and ran to the classrooms shouting ‘Fire! Fire! Fire in dormitory!’

The court further heard that following the first fire incident in the dormitory all the students were sent home for two weeks.

The prosecutor told the court that again on September 27 the accused set ablaze two more dormitories at the school at around the same time, 8pm. Property worth Ksh4 million was destroyed by fire in the two dormitories. It took the students and neighbours more than three hours to put out the fire.

The remorseful boy on the dock was remanded in custody until October 5 when the court will determine his fate having established his real age. The student hails from Narok South and has a brother in form three in the same school. His father is an old boy of this school.

The mother of the accused, Veronica Likwop, was upset that her son had “general tendencies towards laziness and did not like school”. She said her son sometimes behaved in a sinister manner that baffled her and his close family members.