Five Chania Boys In Police Custody. Otherwise, School’s Situation Under Control.

Five students were on Thursday night arrested and held at Thika Police Cells over an attempted unrest and possible arson. The five, all from Chania Boys High School, found themselves in the wrong side of the law after their plans to incite the other boys to strike backfired.

According to the principal Mr. Peter Kariuki, one of the school’s watchmen noticed some students suspiciously walking in towards one of the dormitories at around 3am Thursday night and alert him and his deputy.

He immediately called the police who arrived in no time, thwarting the eventuality of a worst case scenario.

By the time the police arrived, the students had started pelting stones towards the dormitories and breaking window panes. Their action had confused those students who were already dead asleep to think that it was already time to go for morning preps.

“Some students walked out of the dorm and started throwing stones to frighten their colleagues who were still sleeping. Some of these students woke up thinking that it was time for preps. They picked their books and a cup and left for the classroom. When the police arrived, the suspects rushed to their dorms, mixed with the rest and feigned some sleep,” said Mr. Kariuki.

Upon thorough investigations and interrogation, the students who were not part of the scheme started identifying those who were involved and the police apprehended them.

The principal thanked his intelligence team within the school who he said had prior to the incident, leaked some vital information about some intent by some students to cause chaos so as to prompt the closer of the school.

“We had intelligence reports that some students were planning to cause chaos so that they may be sent home to join students from other schools who were already at home. We had gotten wind of this especially from those students who had gone for the music festivals. They told us that their colleagues were ridiculing them that ‘Chanoo mmekuwa wamama sana. Mbona bado mko chuo?’” said the principal.

He alleged that there was also a case of a student who had schemed to have his girlfriend from another school in Murang’a County to visit him, disguised as his sister and pass petrol to him which they would later use to set the school on fire.

Some of the boys were said to be worried that their girlfriends, who were already at home, ‘would be taken away’ by boys from other schools who had gone on strike.

The principal was also saddened by a case where a parent of one of the boys who were in police custody had, prior to the incident, schemed a plot to have him out of school by giving false information about the boy’s health status.

“I was shocked that a parent can come to school to collect his son claiming that he was sick and needed medical attention whereas we knew very well that the boy was as fit as a fiddle. I don’t want to connect this to the Thursday incident but I fail to understand why a parent would conspire with their kid so as to have him out of school,” said the principal.

The principal however assured the parents and members of public that there was no need to worry as the situation on the ground was in control. He said that apart from the suspects, the rest of the boys were unwilling to participate in any form of unrest whatsoever.

“The boys have no issues with the school or its administration. And as you can see them now, they are quite busy in class and lessons are ongoing without any interruptions. We have done a lot of counselling to the students but we still won’t take anything for granted. We will be very vigilant as any slight provocation may trigger some few elements into unrests as have been witnessed in other schools,” he told us.

Otherwise, he pointed out that the school will let the law take its course for those who were caught in the mix.

“We won’t allow ourselves to be swayed by the action against those who were arrested by the police. Since they are now in police custody, we will let the police do their work. This will also teach them the lesson that choices have consequences. It will also be a lesson to the rest of the students that they will be held accountable for their own deeds,” said Mr. Kariuki.

The five have been released with a police bond of between sh. 10,000 and 20,000 pending being arraigned in court any time this week.