A Form Four student at Kaputir Mixed Secondary School in Turkana South died on Saturday after allegedly drinking a hand sanitiser.
Five other students reportedly became visually impaired after drinking the liquid applied to the hands for the purpose of removing common pathogens (disease-causing organisms).
The six students are aged between 16 and 17 years.
The product rich in alcohol became popular with the outbreak of Coronavirus in the country in March last year.
Speaking to K24 TV, one of the students, who aspires to become a medical doctor, expressed his fears that “my stupidity” could shatter the dreams.
Read: Dormitory At Kimulot School Goes Up In Flames, Property Destroyed
Another student said he was lucky to be alive as the substance he drunk was not highly concentrated.
“I drank from a cup which had a mixture of the hand sanitiser and water, ” he said.
“I am, however, feeling pain in the throat and stomach.”
Some of the affected students are receiving treatment at the school clinic while others were rushed to local hospitals for specialized medical care.
Read Also: CS Magoha Bans Portable Hand Sanitisers In Schools Over Recent Fires
The body of the deceased was moved to a Turkana hospital morgue as parents continue to accuse the school management of negligence.
“We are demanding the principal resigns, and the board of governors sent packing over the negligence, ” a parent said.
The incident comes a month after Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha instructed teachers not to allow students to enter into schools with small-bottle sanitisers.
Addressing members of the press on January 20 at Our Lady of Fatima Girls Secondary School in Kariobangi North, the CS noted that some students were using sanitisers to start fires in schools.
Read Also: CS Magoha Bans All School Events, Handshakes To Be Replaced With Nodding, Bowing Over Coronavirus
“I want to tell teachers that they must not allow small-bottle sanitisers into schools. If any child has portable sanitiser, it should be taken and kept and given when the child is leaving school,” the CS said.
“We have already seen that a fire was started using a sanitiser in one of the schools.”
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