By: OJWANG JOE 3 min read
KISUMU, Kenya, Oct 18 — Kisumu County has vowed to take action against individuals behind the demolition of Joel Omino Community Group of Kenya (CGK) Early Childhood Development (ECD) School and a neighbouring church along the Kisumu-Kakamega Road.
County officials led by Education County Executive Committee Member John Awiti visited the site on Sunday to assess the destruction, expressing concern over the impact on learners and questioning the circumstances surrounding the demolition.
Awiti said the county was taken by surprise by the incident, particularly amid claims that a court order may have been involved.
“This is a very sad day for us in the department and the county in general, because we did not expect something like this to happen the way it has happened,” Awiti said.
He questioned the manner in which the demolition was carried out, arguing that enforcement of any court order should follow due process and take into account the welfare of the children affected.
Awiti said the demolition had left learners traumatised and unable to immediately resume classes at the site.
The county will engage parents to determine alternative learning arrangements as it examines the matter legally and deliberates on the next course of action at the cabinet level, the CECM said.
He also regretted that the school community had been left to discover the destruction without prior communication to relevant county officials.
Acting City Manager Fredrick Mariwa said preliminary information indicated that the demolition took place at around 2am, although the county was yet to establish the circumstances surrounding the operation.
Mariwa said his office had neither received a request for demolition nor issued a demolition certificate for the exercise.
“One cannot just wake up one day and then come and demolish a structure that belongs to the public. This was and is a county property,” he said.
He maintained that the city administration was unaware of any authorisation for the demolition, adding that investigations were underway to establish who was responsible.
Mariwa warned that those found culpable would face action.
The demolition affected both the ECD school and a church building standing next to it. School officials who arrived at the scene on Sunday morning found the buildings already brought down, with some school furniture damaged in the process.
School centre manager Felista Wanjiru said she received a call at about 5am informing her that the school had been demolished.
She rushed to the scene, where she found church members attempting to salvage their belongings.
Wanjiru said some chairs, tables and cupboards had been broken, although staff managed to recover part of the property and move it to another school for safekeeping.
The school had 24 learners, comprising 14 boys and 10 girls, whose immediate learning arrangements remained uncertain following the destruction.
Chief Officer for Education Bovince Ochieng said the county had reported the incident to the relevant authorities and would involve the county attorney to support investigations.
“We are actually witnessing something that is unfortunate, that is happening here in Kisumu, where unknown people came here and demolished an ECD school, as well as a church in a property that belongs to the government,” Ochieng said.
He said the county would take measures to ensure the affected children had a safe place to continue learning and that arrangements would be made to minimise further disruption to their education.