Government sets date for requiem mass for 16 students who died in Utumishi Girls fire trgedy
Families of the bereaved after identifying bodies of their loved ones at the Naivasha Funeral Home on June 6
The requiem mass of the 16 students who died in the Utumishi Girls Academy fire tragedy has been moved to June 12 as opposed to June 17 as earlier communicated by the government.
This was confirmed by the Gilgil sub-county Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Stanley Langat Mutai who on June 6 had said the Multi-Agency Committee on the burial preparations would convene and agree on an earlier date according to the parents' pleas.
" The requiem mass will be held at Gilgil Stadium strictly between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m after which families will be allowed to collect the bodies of their loved ones for burial," he says.
While speaking to MtaaWangu, DCC Mutai notes that the government will fully cater for funeral-related expenses for families who lost loved ones in the tragic fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, which claimed the lives of 16 students and one parent.
"Additionally, the government has pledged Sh200,000 to each bereaved family, including the family of the parent who died while travelling to pick up her child following the incident," he notes.
Gilgil sub-county Deputy County Commissioner (DCC), Stanley Langat Mutai.
Mutai further notes that the State will meet all funeral-related expenses, including mortuary charges, coffins, transportation of the deceased and their families with an additional 14-seater matatu to accompany the hearses.
On June 6, parents and kin of the 16 girls who perished at the Utumishi Girls Academy fire tragedy arrived to positively identify the bodies of their children at the Naivasha Funeral Home in which the family of 17-year-old Zuhura Rama took her body to accord Muslim burial rites.
Currently, the nine girls suspected to be behind the deadly fire are being detained at the Nakuru Children's Remand Home until the June 24 when the case will be mentioned in court.