Maranda High School has been closed indefinitely following a fresh wave of student unrest, just as the Bondo Law Courts granted police permission to detain 12 suspects linked to Sunday’s dormitory arson attack.
The 12 Form Three students were arraigned in Bondo, Siaya County, on Tuesday, May 26 where detectives successfully secured a custodial order to hold them at the Bondo Police Station until May 29, 2026, to allow for the completion of ongoing criminal investigations.
The decision to shut down the national school entirely came after Form Four candidates staged a violent lunchtime protest on Monday, May 25. The candidates reportedly destroyed dining hall utensils, threw away food, and flatly refused to attend afternoon lessons, demanding to be sent home.
The candidates’ defiance came less than 24 hours after their accommodation, the three-story Owino “B” dormitory, was destroyed in a petrol-spurred inferno allegedly set by their Form Three counterparts.
Maranda High School Principal Dr. Edwin Namachanja confirmed that the indefinite closure of the institution was a necessary security measure taken after consultations with the Ministry of Education.
”The difficult decision to release the students was made in consultation with the Director of Education’s office to protect lives and secure school property,” Dr. Namachanja stated.
Initially, the school administration had only sent home the Form Three cohort on Monday, May 25 morning to defuse mounting physical tension between them and the aggrieved Form Four candidates. However, the subsequent strike by the candidates and rising hostility left the board with no option but to clear the entire school compound.
Bondo Sub-County Police Commandant Robert Aboki stated that the four extra days granted by the court will enable detectives to fully process the evidence gathered, including recovered CCTV footage from two local petrol stations showing six of the suspects purchasing eight liters of fuel in civilian clothes.
The suspects, who allegedly masked themselves before dousing blankets and mattresses in petrol, face impending charges related to arson and malicious destruction of property.
The closure adds Maranda to a growing list of secondary schools in the region currently shut down due to student indiscipline, following a similar indefinite closure at neighboring Ambira Boys’ High School in Ugunja sub-county last week.
