Chaos has gripped Kericho County after Tengecha Boys High School students reportedly burnt a dormitory only days after a similar incident at Litein Boys. The Tuesday night fire destroyed property worth an unknown value and left residents in shock.
Witnesses claimed the inferno began moments after a group of students went on a rampage.
The school, located just eight kilometres from Litein Boys, has now joined a worrying wave of unrest in the region, raising concerns about discipline, leadership, and the future of young learners.
Kericho in Crisis After Tengecha Students Burn Dormitory Days After Litein Rampage
On Tuesday night, a dormitory at Tengecha Boys High School in Kapkatet, Bureti Sub-County, Kericho County, went up in flames.
The fire reportedly started around 8 pm, shortly after a group of students protested. Witnesses alleged the dormitory was deliberately set ablaze. The building hosted more than 100 learners.
Local residents rushed to the scene and helped stop the fire from spreading. Despite their quick intervention, large sections of the storey dormitory were reduced to ashes.
Images and videos widely circulated online showed massive flames swallowing the structure as locals battled to save it. The property destroyed has not yet been quantified.
The incident left residents worried, especially because it came just days after Litein Boys High School suffered similar unrest that led to an indefinite closure.
Unrest Moves from Litein to Tengecha
The events at Tengecha came hot on the heels of the Litein Boys saga. On Sunday, September 21, students at Litein Boys High School went on a destructive rampage. They torched school property, forcing the administration to close the school indefinitely.
Reports linked the Litein protests to two major issues. Some insiders said students were rebelling against the Apex examinations, a joint test conducted with neighbouring schools such as Moi Tea, Litein Girls, Tengecha Boys, and Korongoi Girls.
However, other sources insisted the students rioted after being denied permission to watch the highly anticipated English Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester City.
The fact that Tengecha is located only eight kilometres from Litein raised fears that the unrest had spread from one institution to another. Locals argued that unresolved frustrations among students were boiling over across the county.
A County Under Siege from School Fires
The fire at Tengecha was not an isolated case. Earlier in September, Cheptenye Boys High School in the same county faced a similar attack.
On September 11, two dormitories were set ablaze during afternoon lessons. While no injuries were reported, a large portion of the dorms was destroyed. Villagers and students struggled together to contain the flames before the situation worsened.
The pattern of attacks now points to a dangerous culture of arson being used as a form of protest in Kericho schools. Education stakeholders, parents, and government officials have expressed alarm. Many now question whether school administrations have lost control and whether learners are being radicalised by peer pressure.
What Next for Students and the Education System
The destruction of dormitories and learning facilities threatens not only property but also the future of students. With each school closure, valuable study time is lost.
At Litein Boys, learners are already at home after the indefinite suspension. At Tengecha, uncertainty looms as administrators weigh how to manage the damage while protecting the rest of the school.
The bigger picture is troubling. Kenya has faced waves of school unrest before, but the intensity of the recent events in Kericho signals a deep-rooted crisis. The refusal to sit exams, combined with frustration over entertainment restrictions, exposes a clash between discipline and freedom in boarding schools.
Parents and leaders in Kericho now demand action. They argue that lax supervision, weak dialogue between school authorities and students, and external influences could be fueling these destructive behaviours.
Unless urgent steps are taken, the cycle of dormitory fires could spiral out of control, costing more schools their facilities and pushing students further away from their academic goals.
