Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has announced that the special task force formed to investigate the escalating cases of school unrest nationwide will be officially gazetted within the next two weeks. He made the remarks on Thursday in Nyeri County during the reopening of Kihate School, which was rehabilitated by the M-Pesa Foundation.

Ogamba revealed that the multi-agency team—which, for the first time, will include both students and parents—will tour various parts of the country to collect public views and recommendations. The panel is expected to submit its findings within 90 days.

The CS also issued a stern warning that anyone found to have orchestrated acts of student violence will face legal prosecution. He added that investigations into Monday's chaos at Nyabisase Secondary School in Bobasi, where students protested the appointment of a new principal, have been stepped up. The protests turned violent, with learners throwing stones and setting a dormitory on fire during the day.

This incident is the latest in a series of school disturbances, coming shortly after a devastating fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, which claimed the lives of 16 students.

While the government is moving to form this new task force, critics and education stakeholders have pointed out that Kenya has a long history of similar panels whose recommendations were never fully implemented. Notable past tragedies include the 2001 Kyanguli Secondary School fire in Machakos, which killed over 60 students—the deadliest school fire in the country's history. In 2012, eight pupils perished in a fire at Asumbi Girls Primary School in Homa Bay, blamed on an electrical fault. In 2016, arson attacks affected more than 100 schools, triggered by student protests over shortened holidays and restrictions on visits. More recently, in September 2024, 21 boys aged 10 to 14 died in a fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri, leading to the closure of its boarding section after an inquiry found overcrowded dormitories and dangerously narrow exits that hindered evacuation.

Despite previous efforts—including the 2008 School Safety Standards Manual, the 2016 Omolo Task Force, and the 2020 Auditor-General's report, all of which highlighted safety gaps—stakeholders worry that this new task force may suffer the same fate, with its proposals left unimplemented.

The Ministry has previously attributed the recurring unrest to weak school leadership, exam-related stress, poor living conditions in boarding houses, substance abuse, rigid schedules, peer pressure, copycat behavior, and student demands for early term closures.