Was It Negligence? DCI Set to Reveal Cause of Deadly Endarasha Dorm Fire

Investigations into the cause of the September 5, 2024 Endarasha Hillside Academy school fire are almost complete, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja has said.

Speaking at Endarasha police station in Kieni on Wednesday when he handed over a police vehicle to the station, Kanja said the DCI is winding up the investigations and will soon release its findings on the cause of the fire which claimed the lives of 21 boys.

“The investigations are almost complete, and, this morning, I was discussing the same with the DCI. That matter is now concluding. Very soon, you (Kenyans) are going to get our findings on that,” he said.

The incident occurred on the night of Wednesday, September 4, 2024, when a fire broke out in the boys’ dormitory, killing 19 on the spot and leaving several others with severe burns.

Two days after the incident, the Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga ordered the IG of Police to launch thorough investigations to determine the cause of the deadly fire.

In a statement, Igonga also directed the detectives to establish whether or not the tragedy was as a result of negligence or recklessness, adding that those found culpable would be prosecuted.

Media reports had initially attributed the cause of the dormitory inferno to an electrical fault. In an interview with a parent of one of the survivors, the fire is said to have started near the main entrance of the dormitory before spreading to the other part of the dorm, which housed 156 boys that night.

Hillside Endarasha Academy pupils entering the school as it opens doors for the first term of the academic year 2025

However, the Kenya Power Company overruled the possibility of an electrical fault as the cause of the fire. In a press briefing on September 10, Nyeri County KPLC business manager, Duncan Machuka said their preliminary findings showed there was no link between the fire and school’s electrical system.

He said at the time of the incident, the line supplying power to the school was low voltage and stable. Machuka said their findings further revealed all the electricity installations at the institution were intact.

“Based on the findings of the analysis of our protection system, from the metre box to the line substation where the medium voltage line serving the school emanates from, we have ascertained there was no link between the cause of the fire or any fault on our network as alleged in sections of media report,” Machuka said.

But in a quick rejoinder, DCI announced it had deployed forensic teams and experts to conduct a thorough investigation into the tragedy. In a statement, Director of Criminal Investigations Abraham Mugambi said the sleuths would work closely with the fire safety experts and other stakeholders to unravel the cause of the fire.