Owner of killer Precious Talents school arrested
Precious Talents School proprietor Moses Wainaina was on Thursday evening arrested over the collapse a building that left eight pupils dead and 64 others injured.
Mr Wainaina spent the night at the Kabete Police Station pending arraignment today.
Before his arrest, government shut down the school and directed that the pupils be transferred to Ngong Forest Primary School, Jamhuri Primary School and Riruta Satellite Primary School.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha, said the closure follows recommendations by a task force that was set up to look into the safety of the pupils after the tragedy.
The school was registered to admit only 340 learners but the number had ballooned to more than 800.
This, according to the CS, was a violation of the guideline that was set for the school.
“The high enrollment and lack of safe physical facilities with non-compliance of qualified teaching staff, sanitation facilities thus render the registration facility null and void,” Magoha said on Thursday.
IMMEDIATELY
On Monday, when visiting the school immediately after the incident, the Education CS noted that the other classrooms in the school were in stable condition.
“In my most humble opinion, the classes are stable, but you notice somebody went and built another storey on top of a temporary structure,” Magoha said.
“If you go ahead and do so without anybody’s approval, I think we should be fair to each other including being fair to the government. If the owners of this school had remained with a single-storey building this accident should not have occurred. If we were working in an ideal situation, they should have come to ask for approval from the ministry which I can guarantee you they would not have gotten.”
He had directed the pupils to remain at home for a week to allow for the initial investigations
On Wednesday, Magoha also announced the closure of St. Catherine Bombolulu Primary school, which according to him was in a similar state as the collapsed Precious Talents School in Ng’ando Dagoretti.
“I have been to the structure, I have been to every room, and basically there is no difference from the structure that collapsed,” he said.