When she committed the offence the student was under-age (14 years old) and was found guilty on December 21, 2021, when she was already an adult.
A KENYAN student accused of starting a dorm room fire in 2017 at Moi Girls High School in Nairobi, which killed 10 students, was found guilty and given a five-year jail sentence by a Kenyan court on Thursday.
The sentence was handed by Justice Stella Mutuku who noted that, despite being a minor, the girl’s offences were severe and, as such, she had to be held accountable for her actions, according to the Citizen Digital.
The judge, however, underscored to the families of the victims that no amount of punishment could bring their loved ones back.
According to Kenyan news outlet ’The Star’, families of students who died in the Moi Girls High School fire expressed their disappointment with the sentence imposed by the court.
Justice Stella Mutuku said she would not impose a non-custodial sentence because the offence of manslaughter was a serious one that needed one to serve a jail term, according to ’The Standard’.
When she committed the offence the student was under-age (14 years old) and was found guilty on December 21, 2021, when she was already an adult.
According to the Citizen Digital, William Ochieng Ogolla, a grandparent of one of the deceased students, expressed his dissatisfaction after the ruling, saying the sentence was mild.
However, he pointed out that they were glad that the matter had been settled and justice served although the damage was already done.
IOL
