
Teargas Lobbed as Mukumu Girls Parents Meeting Turns Chaotic
A meeting held to discuss the reopening of Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School in Kenya turned violent and chaotic, causing the police to disperse the gathering with teargas.
The meeting had previously resolved that the school would reopen on May 2, but trouble began when parents insisted that cereals and other foodstuffs in the school stores be destroyed in their presence before the school reopened.
However, their demand was turned down by the Western Regional Commissioner Irungu Macharia, who chaired the meeting. He stated that the food could not be destroyed that day and that the procedure had to be followed. This statement was met with disapproval from the parents, who booed the commissioner.
After this, the parents tried to break into the store and destroy the food themselves, forcing the police to disperse them with tear gas. Fortunately, no injuries were reported during the chaos.
The meeting was attended by various officials, including Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale, Kakamega woman MP Elsie Muhanda, and Shinyalu MP Fred Ikana, as well as senior TSC officials and the regional director of education Jerald Obiero.
Khalwale supported the parents and argued that the food, worth Sh6.4m, should be burnt to ensure that it did not find its way onto students’ plates when the school reopened.
He claimed that the food was contaminated and should not continue to be stored in the school’s stores while students were present. Meanwhile, Muhanda stated that the parents were major stakeholders in the school and should be listened to.
The school had previously been closed due to the deaths of three students and a boarding mistress caused by typhoid-causing bacterial salmonella. The government confirmed that the deaths were caused by the contaminated food.
Despite this, the school authorities were reluctant to destroy the food, which angered the parents who demanded action.
Teargas Lobbed as Mukumu Girls Parents Meeting Turns Chaotic