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Former nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has criticised the government for proceeding with the National Prayer Breakfast yesterday, while a deadly fire claimed the lives of students hundreds of kilometers away.
Speaking on Spice FM on Friday, May 29, Orwoba said the event should have been cancelled in honour of the students who died in the tragedy.
“If you have a leader at the top who takes a fire tragedy lightly, the leaders beneath them will do the same,” she said.
“In fact, you would have to walk into that room and say, ‘Can we stop what we are doing because 16 innocent lives have been lost?’”
Her remarks came after a fire broke out at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, at about 1am on Thursday, killing 16 learners and injuring 79 others.
Orwoba also accused the government of failing to implement school safety measures despite previous tragedies, including the Hillside Endarasha Academy fire that killed 21 pupils. “If those responsible for the Endarasha tragedy had been held fully accountable, school boards would take safety standards more seriously,” she said.
She added that the government should consider abolishing boarding schools if it cannot guarantee student safety.
Following the fire, senior government officials, including Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba, DCI Director Mohamed Amin, and Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, visited the scene of the fire.
But MPs later dismissed claims that leaders had ignored the tragedy during the National Prayer Breakfast. Parliament said President William Ruto acknowledged the incident during his remarks, conveyed condolences to the affected families, and invited First Lady Rachel Ruto to lead prayers for the victims.
“It is inaccurate to suggest that the incident was ignored, as the leadership publicly recognised the tragedy and joined the nation in mourning and prayer,” the National Assembly wrote on X.
