Uproar As Gov't Asks Parents To Return Students To Endarasha For Accounting: "They're Traumatised"

• Parents at Hillside Endarasha Academy picked up their children after a tragic fire occurred at the institution, killing 17 learners
• The government, however, faulted the move, saying the children ought to have stayed back for them to be counselled and accounted for
• But siding with the parents, Kenyans argued that the trauma of the tragedy would not allow the parents to let their young ones continue staying at the scene for whatever reason

Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Many Kenyans have been angered by a government directive addressed to parents at the tragedy-stricken Hillside Endarasha Academy.

Seventeen learners perished at the learning institution on Thursday night, September 5, after a fire broke out in one of the dormitories.

Why Endarasha parents took their children from school

Having been overcome by anxiety, it emerged that some of the parents and guardians took it upon themselves to pick up their children without checking with the authorities and responders at the tragedy scene.

Learning about the events, Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang asked the parents to return the learners so they could be accounted for before taking them home.

In his plea to the parents, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki said the learners needed to be returned for logistics and counselling purposes.

“All parents who picked their children must report to the command and logistics centre so that we can begin the reconciliation of accounting,” said Kindiki.

“On behalf of the government, we are appealing to any person who might be giving refuge to a child to avail that child so that we can be able to account for our children. Those children also require counselling and medical support; therefore, they should be produced,” added the CS.

How Kenyans reacted to Kindiki's directive to Endarasha parents

However, the directive did not please the citizenry, who faulted the government for being supposedly inconsiderate of the parents' concerns.

They argued that the parents were right to take necessary precautions of their own volition, including evacuating their young ones from the scene, in light of what had happened.

The CS and his team were asked to devise a different mechanism to account for the students without having to require them to go back to the tragic scene.

"This is utterly wrong! These children miraculously escaped death in that inferno. The children & their parents are traumatised. Many were rushed to hospitals for medical care. Thus, asking that they be taken back to the scene of the fire incident is inhumane. Device other means of accounting for the learners if that's the intention," said former nominated senator Millicent Omanga.

"The children are safe in their parents' hands. Does PS Belio understand what PTSD is?" posed Kelvin Kusienya.

"Why would I return my child if it’s evident that the environment is unsafe? He should be able to put himself in the shoes of those parents and those scared students and reason logically," argued Gachie.

"The investigation hasn't even concluded. It's a risky move to send the students back as the school has an obligation to issue a statement on the cause of fire, the corrective and preventive actions in place to give the parents surety that their children will be safe from any such incidents in future. The Education PS should also know that," said Qasie.

"As a psychologist, the children need to be far away from the scene to start healing from the trauma," said Alexander Ngatia.

What Ruto said about Endarasha fire tragedy

Earlier, President William Ruto ordered the relevant agencies to probe the incident and establish its cause.

The president, while commiserating with the school and the affected families, suggested the fire broke out due to a supposed laxity on the side of the school.

Ruto ordered that whoever is found to have slept on their job be held to account.

He pledged government support to the affected families.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke

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