Shikoti Girls Principal takes over Mukumu Girls following calamity

The principal of Mukumu Girls High School, Fridah Ndolo, has been transferred by the Ministry of Education and replaced by Sister Jane Mmbone from Shikoti Girls Secondary School. This decision was made after an outbreak of a disease in the school which has resulted in four casualties. Ms Ndolo has been posted to the office of the Western Region director of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). The board of management has also been disbanded and a new board is expected to be in place by Monday. The school is set to reopen in two weeks after remedial measures have been addressed. The government has released Sh5 million for fresh food supplies and repairs within the school, and all cereals in the school's store have been destroyed. President William Ruto has directed the Ministry to provide Sh5 million to Mukumu Girls and Sh20 million to Butere Boys to construct a new dormitory and a dining hall this financial year to address congestion. Butere Boys has also been closed after a number of students fell ill. The Ministry has committed to treating water in all schools within Kakamega County and testing it daily to ensure that there are no bacterial infections. Also read: Damu kila mahali! Mukumu Girls parent shares daughter's 'painful' death The Ministry has released Sh6 million to drill a new water source and construct a water purifier at Mukumu. The disease outbreak at the school was caused by severe typhoid from water contaminated with salmonella typhoid. The water source at Mukumu had Salmonella typhi and enterotoxigenic E. coli due to faecal contamination from sewage. The health crisis at the school has split the clergy and political class from the county, with Bishop Joseph Obanyi accusing Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and Woman Representative Elsie Muhanda of playing politics with the learning institutions. Mukumu Girls High School has an enrollment of 2,018 students, and the outbreak affected 350 girls in March. Four girls are admitted at the Kakamega Hospital, and eight are in other hospitals in Bungoma, Kisii, Vihiga, Nairobi, and St Mary's Mumias hospital. The Ministry of Health has urged schools to uphold health standards to curb epidemics. Also read: Boni Khalwale asks parents not to return Mukumu Girls students to school