Litein Boys High School in Kericho County has been shut down indefinitely following a violent student strike that broke out on Sunday night.
Kericho East OCPD Benedict Chirchir confirmed the incident, adding that the students had also attempted to break into a neighbouring AIC Litein girls’ school.
He stated that the decision to close the institution was made after consultations with the administration, security, and education officials to ensure safety.
The closure comes just weeks before the start of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
The unrest is said to have started around 9:00 p.m. after learners reportedly raised complaints over poorly cooked rice served during dinner.
What began as grumbling soon turned chaotic, with students throwing stones, smashing windows, and vandalizing the school’s main gate.
In the rampage, the school watchman was attacked with stones and forced to flee for his safety. The students also destroyed classroom furniture, set fire to some facilities, and plunged the compound into darkness by switching off lights, which made it difficult for police to restore order.
Officers from Litein Police Station and Bureti Sub-County were called in to contain the situation. Tear gas was used to disperse the rioting students, some of whom attempted to storm out of the compound while others tried to bring down the school’s perimeter fence.
Despite efforts by officers to calm the situation, the damage had already been done—four classrooms were extensively vandalized, several windowpanes were shattered, and both the library and computer laboratories were partially destroyed by fire.
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Litein Boys Unrest – Same Script?
Earlier this year, in July 2025, Litein Boys was shut down indefinitely after students went on a rampage, protesting over allegations of bad food and other welfare issues.
Some students reportedly raised complaints over being served undercooked rice during dinner. In the chaos, the school watchman was also attacked with stones, forcing him to run for safety under the cover of darkness.
Kericho County Criminal Investigations Officer (CCIO) Ethaiba Mwenda confirmed the incident and said the school had been shut down due to the unrest.
“The students destroyed four classrooms and other properties including a fence during the riots,” said Mwenda.
Also Read:Â Lari Boys School Closed After Students Burn School Buildings
About the School
Litein Boys High School is in Litein town, which is part of Bureti Constituency, Kericho County, in the Rift Valley region of Kenya
The school is a Public Boarding school for Boys, classified as a category 1 school, under the new Competency‑Based Education, CBE.Â
It was started by the African Inland Mission Church in the 1930s as a training centre and residence for disadvantaged women in the Kipsigis community.
In KCSE 2023-2024, Litein posted a mean score of 7.9656, which corresponds to a B- minus.
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