Former Mukumu Girls principal Fridah Ndolo and other administrators could be off the hook in the deaths of three students and a teacher over alleged food contamination.

Education CS Ezekiel Machogu said the ongoing investigations are yet to nail any of the administrators to warrant their prosecution.

The revelation is a big relief to the former principal Fridah Ndolo who has been on the spot over the death of three students and a teacher.

The CS spoke when he appeared before the Senate plenary to answer questions from the members.

Machogu was responding to a question by Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale on whether the government was considering pressing charges on the former principal and the county director of education for alleged negligence.

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“Can the minister inform us whether he’s going to take any action against the director and the former principal for negligence that led to the death of our children?” Khalwale posed.

Yesterday, Machogu said the government will compensate the families of the deceased with Sh400,000 each.

“The families of the deceased students will receive Sh400,000 per student from Group Life Insurance Cover as compensation,” he said.

“The ministry through the regional and county offices and the school’s management, has provided guidance and support to the bereaved families in pursuing these claims for payment.”

The ministry, Machogu disclosed, also catered to the treatment cost of 109 students who were admitted at various health facilities.

They were admitted to Kakamega County Referral Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Aga Khan, KNH, Mediheal, Oasis and Lifecare Hospital.

Machogu spelt out the ministry’s strategy to boost safety and security in all public schools.

He said the ministry enhanced surveillance and enforcement of the guidelines to guarantee safety of the students.

“Yes, you can have a very good manual but the issue of enforcement… and that is why I have said I am giving my officers all the necessary support,” the CS said.

He said the government has procured vehicles for directors of education across the country to enhance their mobility to enforce the set guidelines.

“With effect from this year we’re giving each one of them a vehicle so that they can effectively inspect schools around them,” Machogu said.

The ministry developed the safety standards manual for schools to provide guidelines on ensuring safety and health conditions in the school environment.

The manual requires the schools, to among other things, establish a safety subcommittee.

The manual also provides guidance on promotion of environmental sanitation and hygiene practices, provision of safe water and sanitation and protection of children with special needs.

“Through our quality assurance teams in the ground, we continue to monitor compliance with requirement of the manual,” he said.

The Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) has protested at the transfer of the Mukumu girl’s former principal, Ms Fridah Ndolo, and faulted the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) for the move over “a mistake that was beyond her”.

Secretary General Akelo Misori said the incident that left over 600 other students and workers hospitalised was as a result of negligence by the authorities.

“Punishing the principal only undermines efforts to find lasting solutions to the problem over which she had no control,” said Mr Misori.

He added; “Her removal fits in a pattern where our hard-working principals are used as sacrificial lambs to mitigate public anger at any malfunction in the school system regardless of the enormity of the situation.”

Mr Misori said the union dispatched a team of health experts to the school to unearth the cause of the deaths and it found that there was water contamination due to the close proximity of the water and sewer systems.

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He said this was an issue that reflected the failure by the country’s public health authorities.

The official report from the Ministry of Health indicated that the incident was caused by Enterotoxigenic E Coli and Salmonella Typhi, an indication that the water was contaminated.

“Our team observed that the water used at the school is stored in an underground tank, close to where a sewer line runs. The possibility of sewer contaminating water in the tank due to seepage is very high,” said Mr Misori.

The union said the school had 2,028 students against its capacity of about 400, overstretching the limited resources.

Mr Misori attributed this overload to the government’s policy of 100 per cent transition from primary school to secondary school

“The school is clearly overpopulated and the learning resources and other facilities are strained. Uncontrolled sharing of resources due to the scarcity plays a critical role in disease transmission in the event of an outbreak,” said Mr Misori.

Mr Misori called out the Directorate of Public Health for negligence in public health surveillance, noting that a similar outbreak had been reported at Buture Boys High in Kakamega and Khasoko Boys High School in Bungoma.

“There clearly is a systemic lapse in public health surveillance as opposed to failure by the school administration in adhering to public health guidelines. Madam Ndolo had no power whatsoever over sewer systems developed by the county government,” said Mr Misori.

Kuppet is now threatening to sue the Ministry of Education over the “knee-jerk” removal of the principal, which was announced by Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu.

Sacred heart Mukumu girls high school principal, Frida Ndolo has had a bitter exchange with the Basic Education Principal Secretary, Belio Kipsang.

On Wednesday, April 5, Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Susan Nakhumicha and Basic Education Principal Secretary visited Mukumu Girls’ High School in Kakamega County to establish what might have caused contamination in food and water that the learners took.

The food contamination left two students dead and tens hospitalised.

“Why are you on the phone?” PS Kipsang told Ndolo, adding: “Don’t you realise we are here on an important fact-finding mission, to establish what caused the deaths of our daughters?”

In response, Ndolo said: “I am calling the person who should be opening the food store.”

In a quick rejoinder, Kipsang said: “All along, you knew we would be visiting your school. So, why did you not plan early enough?”

Appearing nervous, Ndolo disconnected the call as the respective ministries’ officials looked at her. She, thereafter, remained silent throughout the session led by CS Nakhumicha and PS Kipsang.

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The principal had earlier attracted backlash from Kenyans, including Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, after her April 3 notice on the closure of the school went viral.

Addressing parents in the letter, she said: “This is to notify you that following consultation with the Ministry of Education directors and TSC directors, it has been decided that the students break off to heal of the toxic environment already created by the media.”

Chrispinus Juma, a Facebook user, took issue with the blame directed at the media by Ndolo.

“Ndolo claims the media has created a toxic environment for learners, yet postmortem conducted on the two deceased girls indicated they died of gastritis or stomach inflammation. Was it not toxic food or water that killed the girls?” he posed.

Western Region Director of Education Jared Obiero said an investigation into management of the school was urgently needed, hence the decision to close it indefinitely.

“Last year (2022), a student of Mukumu Girls’ High School died. Recently, the school lost two more students in a case of suspected food poisoning. We cannot allow this to continue. The school will remain closed until the safety of our children is guaranteed,” he said.

In her address to journalists after a tour of the school on Wednesday, Health CS Nakhumicha said she was disappointed to see how dirty the school’s kitchen was.

“You (Ndolo) must ensure the kitchen is cleaned,” the minister told the school’s principal, adding that even the dining tables were unsightly.

As this happens, Ndolo is only three months away from retiring, as she will attain the retirement age of 60.

Meanwhile, food and water samples from Mukumu Girls’ High School were collected for analysis at KEMRI laboratories. The results are yet to be out.