A meeting to discuss the reopening of Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High School in Kenya turned chaotic, forcing police to disperse the gathering with teargas.
The meeting, which was chaired by the Western Regional Commissioner Irungu Macharia, had resolved that the school would reopen on May 2.
However, trouble started when parents demanded that cereals and other foodstuffs in the school stores be destroyed in their presence before the school reopened.
Their request was denied by Macharia, who insisted that the proper procedure must be followed, which could not allow the food to be destroyed on that day.
This led to the parents booing the commissioner, and he left in anger. The situation escalated when parents tried to break into the store and destroy the food themselves. The police had to intervene by lobbing teargas canisters at the rowdy parents.
The meeting was attended by several dignitaries, including Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, Kakamega Woman MP Elsie Muhanda, and Shinyalu MP Fred Ikana. Khalwale supported the parents’ demand that the food, worth Sh6.4m, be burnt to ensure it did not find its way to students’ plates when the school opens.
