Choma Secondary School hostel gutted by fire

Personal effects worth thousands of kwacha were on Monday morning gutted by fire at Choma Secondary School in unclear circumstances.

A Byta FM News crew that visited the school after a tip-off from members of the public found part of the boys’ dormitory burnt.

The cause of the inferno which started around 11:00Hours is yet to be officially established but some people familiar with the accident have hinted that the fire was as a result of an electrical fault.

And according to parents who have children at the school, management is trying to ‘sweep the dirt under the carpet’ for unknown reasons.

A fuming parent who stormed Byta FM radio station last evening claimed that Choma Secondary Head teacher Samuel Mudenda had cautioned teachers and pupils never to disclose anything to outsiders about the accident, as management was seemingly reluctant to make the fire incident public so that guardians would not be alarmed.

The parent bitterly complained that the school management should have found alternative sleeping places for the affected pupils unlike living them unattended.

Meanwhile, Provincial Education Officer (PEO) Florence Chikalekale who was found at the Choma Secondary campus refused to talk to the Byta FM News crew as she strangely claimed that she had no information despite having been earlier given a briefing by the Headmaster.

After being pressed to give any information that she had gathered, the PEO dramatically backtracked her statement and referred all querries to the Head Master who had earlier said the school would release the details at an appropriate time after having exhausted its ‘communication channels.’