Nyeri County Police nabbed three learners from Kagumo High School for attempting to torch a school dormitory.
While making the arrests, the three boys were found with what looked like kerosene and turpentine in a water bottle together with a matchbox.
The principal of the school Mr Silas Mwirigi revealed that one of the security guards to the school Mr Peter Wangungu noticed suspicious activities around the dormitory section during the school preps time. The security guard rushed to the dormitory to find out what was going on.
When the security guard entered the dormitory the boys froze in their tracks and were not able to answer questions on what they were doing in the dormitory section.
The heroic security guard then found half-litre bottles of kerosene and turpentine together with a box of match sticks.
The three boys were then restrained until local police arrived on the scene and found out that the three students who were in form four, form two and three respectively had the intention to set the dormitory on fire.
Another 8 learners from Kiandu Secondary School together with the three are facing charges of arson but were not able to plea yesterday as they did not have any legal representative.
Senior Principal Magistrate James Macharia issued the orders on Monday revealing the boys will be detained until tomorrow (Wednesday) when they will be arraigned in court again.
The learners will now stay in the police stations in Kiganjo and Nyeri respectively until the 10th of November. They will then enter a plea.
The eight learners were charged with failing to disclose the planned torching which amounts to arson.
The Chief Executive Officer to the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) urged Allan Wanjohi, the Director of Public Prosecutions, to record statements from the boys and then call some of them as witnesses in the case.
“The minors should be allocated State Counsels to represent them before they appear in court again,” said TSC CEO Dr Nancy Macharia.