Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has announced that families of Mukumu Girs’ students who lost their lives will receive Ksh400,000 each as compensation.
Machogu spoke while appearing before MPs over the Mukumu saga where three students were reported dead and a teacher, following suspected food poisoning incident. Tens of other students were hospitalised leading to a temporary closure of the school.
Machogu said that the government has already paid the treatment costs for all students from the school who were admitted in hospital.
“The Ministry through the EduAfya Insurance policy paid for the cost of treatment for the learners who fell sick. Families of the diseased students will be paid sh400, 000 per student,” Machogu told MPs.
The Cs told MPs that his Ministry together with the Ministry of Health, the County Government of Kakamega and the Kenya Red Cross have been providing counselling services to students and teachers in the school.
He also says that the school will have a clinical officer and a nurse permanently employed in the school to treat minor health issues.
“We will also now have a clinical officer and a nurse permanently employed in the school such that small and minor ailments can be done at the school level,” he added.
To avert the risk of consumption of contaminated food and water in schools, Machogy says the ministry will in consultation with the Kenya Bureau of Standards conduct regular food and water across schools in the country.
“The contaminated food which was in the store, amounting to 73 tones of cereals, maize, rice and beans was destroyed. New suppliers have been procured to supply foodstuff and we are also ensuring that we are doing a proper checking to ensure that whatever food consumed in the school is of proper quality and does not have any such contamination,” Machogu said.
“On water supply, all the tanks in the school have been flushed and cleaned. All water storage facilities have been properly cleaned and fitted with new taps, the tanks are filled with clean and treated water that is routinely tested by the Victoria North Water Development Authority.”
The government has also set aside Ksh10 million for the purposes of renovating dormitories and removing the asbestos roofs in some of the buildings in Mukumu Girls.
Mukumu Girls’ management
The Ministry has also replaced the school management, from the board to the former Principal Fridah Ndolo who was replaced with Janet Mmbone.
“The management of the school has since been changed because I found it necessary to change the board, and therefore I dissolved the board of management and a new one constituted. I also found it necessary to replace the former principal of the school, so we now have a new principal in place,” Machogu said.
As of Tuesday, May 30, 2023, 1,962 students had reported to the school, 44 were yet to report while 56 have applied to transfer to other schools.
