Hillside fire tragedy: Parents in anguish as they seek answers on children’s whereabouts

Parents who are yet to find their children following the fire tragedy at the Hillside Endarasha Academy are seeking to know the fate of their children.

The parents who had camped at the school for the second day on Saturday, September 7, 2024, expressed their pain for not knowing the whereabouts of their children.

Julius Kaburu, one of the distressed parents, says he was told by some of the children who were rescued from the inferno that his son was able to get out of the dormitory safely but he is yet to trace him.

“When we heard about the incident, we rushed to the school because it is not far from home and some of the children who had managed to escape told me that my son was able to jump out of the window but up to now I am yet to find him,” Kaburu detailed.

He indicated that he had searched for him in hospitals where the injured were admitted without a trace.

“We are asking the government to let us know the fate of our children to end the anxiety and the anguish we are having,” he pleaded.

Patricia Wambui arrived early Saturday morning at the school after she received information that there were pupils who had returned to the school, to search for her missing nephew only to be turned away.

“We received information that some of the missing children had returned to the school and we came to check if our son was among them, but we were told to go back home and wait for information,” she said.

Wambui said that they are hopeful that they will find their son alive, but called on the government to let them know the fate of their children.

“We want the government to tell us the fate of our children whether they are alive or dead though we are hopeful that our son is alive,” Wambui stated.

On the other hand, parents whose children survived the incident said they are grateful that they survived but most of them are traumatized.

Leah Wangechi said they could not sleep the entire night as his son was having panic attacks and she had to seek counselling services from the Kenya Red Cross officials.

“I am indeed grateful to God that my son survived the incident but he is so traumatized, we are urging the government to facilitate counselling to all the survivors as they are deeply affected,” she said.

“I am disturbed by the way he is reacting, he keeps asking me whether the evening meal they shared together before the tragedy was the last supper,” Wangechi added.

Edila Mwangi also urged the government to offer counselling services as their children are going through a rough time trying to come to terms with the loss of their schoolmates.