Sheets of iron lie twisted and blackened on the ground, their once-straight edges curled by the heat.
The skeletal frames of beds jut from mounds of ash.
It is if the fire stopped only moments ago.
But the flames that tore through Magena Boys’ High School in Bomachoge Borabu in Kisii County on February 26 are long gone.
What they left behind is harder to erase.
The charred remains of five dormitories now stand as a grim monument to a night when the ordinary rhythm of school life was violently shattered.
For years, Magena Boys had quietly built a reputation for producing good examination results despite the challenges confronting the institution.
Then came the fire.
Within hours, years of investment were reduced to twisted metal, rubble and ash, forcing the school into one of the most difficult chapters in its history.
“Everything changed that night. We lost facilities that had taken years to put together, and suddenly we had to start thinking about how to rebuild almost from scratch,” says Parents Teachers Association chairman Nelson Kenge.
Months later, the debris remains.
Walking through the ruins, it is difficult to imagine that the blackened ground was once a place of laughter, youthful banter and whispered conversations.
This was where boys returned after long days in classrooms.
They slept here. They revised here. They shared jokes, nursed friendships and talked about the futures they hoped awaited them beyond the school gates.
For many of them, a dormitory was more than a building.
It was home.
Then, in one devastating night, fire consumed it.
Nobody was arrested for the arson.
The destruction left the school staring at a reconstruction bill estimated at Sh50 million, according to board officials.
The damage is not simply measured in bricks, iron sheets and beds. It is also measured in the disruption to the lives of hundreds of students and the financial burden transferred to parents already struggling to keep their children in school.
For now, the school has been forced to improvise.
Classrooms have had to double as sleeping quarters as the institution struggles to accommodate its boarders.
“It was a big dent, not just for the school but also for the parents, because everything went up in smoke,” Kenge says.
He says the scale of destruction is difficult to comprehend.
“There was nothing that was left, as you can see. The school is actually using classrooms to house the boys at the moment.”
On Tuesday, the members of the school board spoke about the painstaking journey to restore normal learning while appealing for urgent help to rebuild the destroyed infrastructure.
Board chairman Henry Omuga says the immediate priority is to restore a safe and dignified environment for the students.
“What is urgently needed is to rebuild and restore a safe and dignified learning environment for the learners again,” Omuga says.
But the task is enormous.
The school is also preparing for an increase in enrolment, particularly with the admission of the second cohort of Grade 10 learners expected in 2027.
“We have already been given about 310 students. With the charred structures, the challenge remains enormous,” Omuga says.
The board is now appealing to the national and county governments, elected leaders, former students, parents, well-wishers and development partners to rally behind the institution.
Particular attention has been directed to Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba, whom the officials want to visit the school and consider emergency infrastructure support.
“The damage is beyond what the school and parents can shoulder alone. We need government support to reconstruct the destroyed facilities,” Omuga says.
The board has also appealed to Kisii Governor Simba Arati, Kisii Woman Representative Doris Aburi and Bomachoge Borabu MP Obadiah Barongo to help mobilise resources towards the reconstruction.
“This is the time for our leaders to come together and act,” Kenge says.
“Every month we delay reconstruction is another month our students continue to bear the consequences of the fire.”
Yet the school’s problems extend beyond the burned dormitories.
Board finance chief Laban Ondari says inadequate toilet facilities, water shortages and the absence of a perimeter fence have compounded the institution’s difficulties.
“The urgency is finances. We cannot rise again without help. We sincerely need support,” Ondari says.
He puts the value of the losses at about Sh50 million on the lower side, saying the money would help reconstruct the dormitories and replace essential boarding facilities destroyed by the inferno.
For a school community that has already stretched its resources, raising such an amount through ordinary contributions is a daunting prospect.
“We have done what we can as a school community, but this is beyond the capacity of parents and the school. We need a government-backed intervention,” Ondari says.
He describes the school community as resilient — but says resilience alone cannot put up walls, replace beds or restore destroyed facilities.
“We cannot rebuild five dormitories through goodwill alone. We need resources, and we need them urgently. We are asking our leaders to come to the school, see the damage for themselves and help us put a clear reconstruction plan into action,” he says.
There is, however, something haunting about the ruins that no reconstruction budget can capture.
The boys will eventually return to proper dormitories. New beds will be bought. Fresh iron sheets will replace the twisted remains. Walls will rise again where ashes now lie.
But the memory of February 26 will remain.
For Magena Boys, rebuilding is therefore about more than replacing buildings.
It is about restoring normality.
It is about giving students back the dignity of having a place they can call their own.
And, perhaps most importantly, it is about allowing the boys to dream again without the ruins of that terrible night hanging over them.
The fire destroyed five dormitories.
It should not be allowed to destroy the future of the school.
