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Kenyan Boy Burnt Alive Inside School

The suspect poured methylated spirit then set the boy ablaze

A Kenyan boy sustained serious injuries after he was allegedly burnt by a supervisor at the institution.

The standard eight pupil was set ablaze by a volunteer identified as Kevin Mugo after one of the pupils said that he had lost Sh800.

Mugo volunteers under the Child Rescue Programme, De La Salle Christian Brothers, a global vocational body meant to help children from poor backgrounds.

Mugo works at St Mary’s Boys’ Secondary School and the programme also runs at the institution's primary school.

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According to the teenager, the gory ordeal happened on June 30, when they were having night preps.

The 15-year-old recounted the fateful day stating that the supervisor threatened to burn him when the Sh800 went missing.

“Some money was lost and we were called into the supervisor’s quarters. We were told to kneel down and give out who had stolen the money,”

The boy divulged that the supervisor cornered him and left his 16 colleagues out of the case.

“He said that I stole the money and then asked if we had ever seen a thief being burned," the Nation quoted the boy.

It was then that Mugo, who is a former student at the institution, took a jerry can of methylated spirit and poured on the boy. The suspect then lit a match stick on the teen.

The Standard Eight pupil ran to the principal's house to seek.

“He was burned and when I asked him what happened he said that Kevin Mugo burned him,” he said.

The boy was rushed to Consolata Hospital Mathira where the doctor said he had encountered 20 percent burns.

The boy’s father – John Githinji - told the local daily that the institution tried to cover up the incident by keeping the boy in the school and treating him on a daily basis.

The administration also allegedly told the boy to say that he sustained the burn from hot water.

“They told me to say that I was burned by hot water".

“When they called me they explained what happened and promised to make a follow up on the case and take action. I expected this matter would be reported to the police but to this point they have done nothing,’’  Githinji told the local daily.

The father then reported the matter to the police under Occurrence Book number OB28/29/07/17.

The school, however, denied the claims stating that it was an accident.

Confirming the reports, Nyeri Central police boss Muinde Kioko said that they had launched investigations.

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