Today, Kipchumba Murkomen has given a bible verse on the update on Utumishi Girls, and that is actually news.
The CS quoted the verse on “your own mouth is the cause of your destruction”, and everything just went in disarray.
It is not among your own folks, but Kenyans just need answers. There are a lot of questions lingering in their heads about the deadly, sad fire tragedy at Utumishi Girls in Gilgil.
Like, is there something the government could do? Of course yes, and this is not a question of whether it’s a yes or no.
First, many of them say, they should see heads rolling – and it starts with you. Honestly, you are the CS for internal security for Clouds sake.
But I will give you the way out: Accountability. Why can’t you hold the public servants who have been tasked with that matter, yet they just sleep and eat their salaries, public money?
Occupational Health professionals in Kenya
If there is someone who should resign is the old dog Francis Atwoli. He heads the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, which houses the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSHS) that is the employer of occupational health professionals in Kenya.
We assume, occupational health professionals are currently under that ministry that is a well functioning unit of the government right now.
Why I am saying this is that these employed occupational health professionals are in public service to recoginise workplace changes that have significant health and safety impacts and effective ways to minimise those impacts.
Their work is to justify health and safety improvements using moral, financial and legal arguments, and advise on the main duties for health and safety in the workplace, taking account of typical emergencies.
They are the people who should have been visiting schools to check on whether any safety protocols are in place in case of any danger. This is aside from the Ministry of Education officials.
Role of DOSHS and School Safety
The Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSHS), under the Ministry of Labour, enforces the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) 2007. Schools qualify as workplaces, so DOSHS has a mandate to:
- Register and inspect workplaces (including schools) for hazards.
- Ensure compliance with safety measures like fire extinguishers, alarms, exits, emergency procedures, and overall risk assessments.
- Investigate incidents and promote prevention.
That said, Mr Murkomen, it is either everyone go home or we gotta act up as a country. We need competent people. Come out and apologize because the entire system has failed, starting with you. But we can do better. It is not enough to lay off the teachers, the BOM, or even the principal. Of course, investigations needs to be done, but the fire would have been contained if there were fire extinguishers. Someone saw one lit a fire. Another saw the matron going outside. Probably someone saw a small fire while it was starting. But what could she do? Scream? Shout? Cry? Run?
Bwana CS, do something. And the families deserved a heavy compensation. A young life lost is a future destroyed.
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