"Treated as prisoners": Form 4 student leaks school's chaos on WhatsApp
This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.
- A Form 4 student infiltrated a parents-only WhatsApp group and revealed the full account of what led to the June 2026 strike at Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School in Nakuru
- Parents who attended an August 12 meeting discovered dormitories infested with lice, an interdicted principal and a demand to pay KSh 16.89 million to cover riot damages
- The student's message, read aloud at the parents' meeting, described police supervision, cancelled events and a riot sparked after students were promised a bull but received bread and soda
A Form 4 student reportedly found his way into a parents-only WhatsApp group and dropped a lengthy account of the events that led to the school's June 2026 strike, sending the meeting room into uproar when the message was read aloud.
The revelation came during a general parents' meeting held on August 12, 2026, called by the school to discuss riot damages, their cause, and the resumption of students for the third term. What parents encountered instead was far beyond what the agenda suggested.
According to the student's account, shared by activist Ndungu Nyoro on Facebook, the trouble began on a Sunday evening when students started a riot, targeting an assistant boarding master accused of meting out corporal punishment and mishandling students.
Students sent home, told to pay KSh 4,000
The students were subsequently sent home and required to pay KSh 4,400 each as compensation for damaged windows and desks.
When they returned roughly three weeks later, the student wrote, the atmosphere had turned hostile.
Teachers were reportedly insulting, students were forced to issue formal apologies, and the school operated under armed police supervision.
The student described the treatment as that of "prisoners and goons."
Kenyan parent describes high school's condition
The situation worsened when, on the date referred to as "11," a career fair was cancelled alongside an AGM, a Christian Union rally and a planned trip.
Students were suspended on a Sunday morning, and around 3am they were moved dormitory by dormitory to classrooms. By 6am, a fresh strike had broken out.
A Grade 10 parent who wrote to Ndungu Nyoro described the school's condition as "appalling." Dormitories were so badly infested with lice that parents filmed them during the meeting.
The school compound was unkempt, and the Board of Management had reportedly not held an AGM for three to four years, leaving parents completely in the dark about the institution's affairs.
Parents told to raise KSh 16.8 million
At the centre of the controversy is the school's principal, whom a Teachers Service Commission representative told the meeting had been interdicted.
Parents were then informed they must collectively raise KSh 16,890,000 to cover riot damages, with the school's insurer agreeing to contribute an additional KSh 10 million.
Many parents pushed back, arguing that the strike itself was triggered by a political event at the school where students were promised abull only to receive bread and soda.
The DCI and other relevant agencies were said to be investigating the matter.
Why did Jomo Kenyatta's students set the school on fire?
In another story, TUKO.co.ke also highlighted facts about the incident at Jomo Kenyatta Boys Senior High School in Nakuru, where students set fire to multiple classrooms and administrative offices following unmet expectations from a political meeting.
The devastating fire left parents questioning their children's actions and the school community grappling with the aftermath of this unprecedented event.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.