President Ruto orders school re-opening date be postponed

Addressing the nation on Friday, President Ruto said the school re-opening date be postponed "until further notice", noting that the situation is likely to escalate in the coming days.

Schools were initially set for re-opening on April 29, 2024, but the date was later pushed to May 6, 2024, due to disruptions from the heavy rains.

"No corner of our country has been spared from this havoc. The re-opening date of our schools after the April holidays, which was scheduled for Monday this week, had to be varied. Transportation has become challenging in many parts of the country due to flooded and damaged roads and bridges and the threat of raging rivers and overflowing dams in downstream regions," said Ruto.

"The Ministry of Education is directed to postpone the re-opening of all schools in the country for the second term until further notice," said Ruto on Friday.

The Head of State pointed out that 210 people had so far been killed by the floods, with many injured and property of unknown value destroyed.

"Sadly, we have not seen the last of this perilous period, as the situation is expected to escalate. Meteorological reports paint a dire picture: The rains will persist, increasing both in duration and intensity for the rest of this month and possibly after," he said. 

At the same time, President Ruto requested Members of Parliament to re-organize their CDF allocations to prioritise the reconstruction of school infrastructure that has been damaged as a result of the floods. 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior has been directed to coordinate the relocation and evacuation of the affected members of the public, identification of sites for temporary shelter for displaced persons and supervise the overall support programs.

The government has mapped out 178 dams, and water reservoirs situated within public and private land in 33 counties, which are already full and present imminent danger to adjacent settlements.

Areas prone to landslides and mudslides in various counties have also been identified as high-risk areas from which the residents in those settlements being evacuated.