Troubled Sacred Mukumu Girls High School in Kakamega County has been reopened five weeks after it was closed following a disease outbreak that claimed the lives of three students and one teacher as around 500 other learners were hospitalized.
The school reopened yesterday, with Form Four students reporting first as the administration laid down tough conditions, including prayers every evening.
The students are also required to produce a medical report on their health status, which will be assessed by health doctors stationed at the school.
“On Tuesday, we will receive Form Threes, and on Wednesday, the school will have a day of prayer for the two classes. On Thursday and Friday, Form Two and Form One students will report to the school, respectively.
“On Saturday, it will be a day reserved for prayer. Afterward, there will be clergy who will be conducting prayers every evening,” the school principal, Jane Mmbone, said.
The school has cancelled its previous supplier of its water and contracted the Kericho Water and Sanitation Company Limited after medical tests revealed that the situation resulted from the consumption of contaminated water and food.
Bags of maize, beans, and rice were destroyed last week by the Bamburi Cement Company in Mombasa.
Apart from that, all students will undergo psychosocial counseling when they report.
“We have groups from the Kenya Red Cross, psychosocial counseling, and medics. As the students were at home, we requested that the parents take their children to the hospital. So, they’re reporting back with a medical report, which will also be assessed by medics on the ground.
“We followed the procurement procedure and brought in new suppliers, and we expect to receive the maize and beans. We have public health officers to ascertain whether the food is safe. The affected stores were treated and cleaned,” she said.
Ms. Mmbone, a former principal of the school, took over and disbanded the entire board of management to pave the way for investigations.
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