A Kenyan student who was accused of starting a dorm fire that killed 10 of her schoolmates has been sentenced to five years in prison. According to Citizen Digital, the 2017 incident happened at the Moi Girls High School.
The accused student was 14 years old at the time of the incident, and she allegedly started the fire after school had resumed from a holiday. The prison sentence also came after she was found guilty of the offense.
During the sentencing hearing, Justice Stella Mutuku stated that though the accused is a minor, her actions were so severe that she had to be held liable. The judge also told the families of the victims that no form of punishment could bring their loved ones back to life.
But a grandparent of one of the victims, William Ochieng Ogolla, registered his displeasure with the sentence, saying they were expecting a much stiffer punishment. Ogolla, however, said he was happy the case had been put to bed even though the harm had already been caused.
“We are happy that the judgment has been delivered through very lenient. We expected something much stronger than that but the judgment has been delivered,” he said.
“We are hurt, the loss is irreplaceable and we call upon any student in any school to desist from this cases. We expected this to be stiff to show any student out there that the government is serious.”
