Moi Girls school fire case sentencing now pushed to next Friday

by | Jan 3, 2022 | news

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The much awaited sentencing of an Eighteen year old girl who was convicted for the murder of 10 Moi Girls High School students, in an arson attack in 2017, has now been postponed to January 14 this year .

The sentencing  which was to be delivered today, did not  take place after the Court was informed that the  Probation report and the Victim Assessment Impact Reports were not ready.

Victim Impact Statements are written accounts prepared by crime victims detailing the impact that a crime had on their lives. These effects, or impacts, may be any or all of physical, financial, emotional, or psychological.

In this report, the Probation officer will interview the families of the 10 girls who lost their lives in the fire.The Report is made to enable the Court make an appropriate sentence.

The accused person T.W.G, who was 14 years old  when she committed the offense  said that   hated the  School  and even begged her parents to transfer from the institution.

The girl who was convicted on 10 counts of Manslaughter, said the toilets were filthy and she hated being forced to clean them.

On September 1, four days after the third term opened in 2017, she set her Kabarnet dormitory on fire. Ten students died in the attack.

The trial has been delayed and the judge said it was an emotional case. Often the court had to adjourn to give witnesses, especially the parents of the deceased students, time to compose themselves during the testimony.
Justice Stella Mutuku  while convicting her noted that  her aim may have been just to cause a fire and burn the building without hurting anyone. But she didn’t consider that the building had two floors and there were certainly going to be casualties.
“The subject, in her naivety, may have overlooked the consequences of her actions. Her attempt to wake some of her friends up was aimed at rescuing them from the fire,” the judge said.
The prosecution called 42 witnesses. They included students of Moi Girls and Nana’s friends.
Evidence on record from a mother of one of the victims revealed that the accused had a matchbox and one day she demonstrated to her classmates how she could cast spells using the matchbox.

 On the day of the fire  the girl prayed before going to bed, asking God for forgiveness for what she was about to do that night.

But in her defence, the accused denied demonstrating a spell using a matchbox or that she showed it to her friends.

She also denied belonging to a cult as alleged by her friends. She denied starting the fire.

Judge Mutuku also dismissed claims of her being an Illuminati, saying there was no proof that the accused practised demon worship or that she had joined Illuminati.

“This court was not given evidence to show what Illuminati is and why it is bad to belong to it or whether it is associated with devil worship. This is a court of law and is governed by law and procedure,” the judge said.

The much awaited sentencing of an Eighteen year old girl who was convicted for the murder of 10 Moi Girls High School students, in an arson attack in 2017, has now been postponed to January 14 this year .

The sentencing  which was to be delivered today, did not  take place after the Court was informed that the  Probation report and the Victim Assessment Impact Reports were not ready.

Victim Impact Statements are written accounts prepared by crime victims detailing the impact that a crime had on their lives. These effects, or impacts, may be any or all of physical, financial, emotional, or psychological.

In this report, the Probation officer will interview the families of the 10 girls who lost their lives in the fire.The Report is made to enable the Court make an appropriate sentence.

The accused person T.W.G, who was 14 years old  when she committed the offense  said that   hated the  School  and even begged her parents to transfer from the institution.

The girl who was convicted on 10 counts of Manslaughter, said the toilets were filthy and she hated being forced to clean them.

So on September 1, four days after the third term opened in 2017, she set her Kabarnet dormitory on fire. Ten students died in the attack.

The trial has been delayed and the judge said it was an emotional case. Often the court had to adjourn to give witnesses, especially the parents of the deceased students, time to compose themselves during the testimony.
Justice Stella Mutuku  while convicting her noted that  her aim may have been just to cause a fire and burn the building without hurting anyone. But she didn’t consider that the building had two floors and there were certainly going to be casualties.
“The subject, in her naivety, may have overlooked the consequences of her actions. Her attempt to wake some of her friends up was aimed at rescuing them from the fire,” the judge said.
The prosecution called 42 witnesses. They included students of Moi Girls and the accused’s friends.
Evidence on record from a mother of one of the victims revealed that the accused had a matchbox and one day she demonstrated to her classmates how she could cast spells using the matchbox.

 On the day of the fire  the girl prayed before going to bed, asking God for forgiveness for what she was about to do that night.

But in her defence, the accused denied demonstrating a spell using a matchbox or that she showed it to her friends.

She also denied belonging to a cult as alleged by her friends. She denied starting the fire.

Judge Mutuku also dismissed claims of her being an Illuminati, saying there was no proof that the accused practised demon worship or that she had joined Illuminati.

“This court was not given evidence to show what Illuminati is and why it is bad to belong to it or whether it is associated with devil worship. This is a court of law and is governed by law and procedure,” the judge said.