A violent student riot erupted at Friends School Malava Boys on Sunday night, leaving scores injured and property of unknown value destroyed. The unrest, which broke out on March 29, saw students prefects suffer serious injuries after being attacked by fellow learners for reporting cases of sneaking out of school. The situation forced the administration to close the school indefinitely, just a day before the official closing date.Tensions reported to have escalated after non-prefect students targeted a suspected whistleblower, a dormitory captain and prefects who had allegedly laid an ambush to apprehend students sneaking back into the school.
The chaos is said to have begun at around 8:30 p.m., when a group of students sneaked out through the fence. They were spotted and reported to the dormitory captain, who mobilised prefects to track them down. Between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., the school was rocked by howling, shouting and the sound of breaking glass, as neighbours confirmed unrest within the compound. Police later responded to the incident, with several students injured as they attempted to escape beatings. Witnesses said aggrieved students descended on suspected informers, assaulting them with kicks, blows and crude weapons.
Prefects who tried to intervene were overpowered and forced to flee to the school sick bay. However, the mob followed them, smashing windows and attempting to force their way through the steel door. Teachers and security personnel were eventually overwhelmed by the scale of the violence and called in Kabras police officers, who moved in to restore order. In the ensuing chaos, students broke into the school bakery and canteen, making away with foodstuffs, other goods and cash. They tampered with power connections in what is suspected to have been an attempt to set the school ablaze.

Our efforts to obtain a comment from Senior Principal Moses Moyi were unsuccessful. He kept journalists waiting for hours while attending a staff meeting before leaving without addressing the press. So far, four students have been identified as having sneaked out, while dozens more have been sent home over alleged involvement in the violence, destruction and injuries.
Education officials, including county and sub-county directors, visited the school to assess the situation. The incident piles fresh pressure on the school’s leadership. The principal, who took over late last year, has already faced scrutiny following a dormitory fire barely a month into his tenure. A report on that incident has yet to be released. The latest unrest has heightened concerns among parents and education stakeholders over student safety and management at the institution.

Sources within the school further allege persistent water shortages, raising concerns over sanitation despite the presence of a borehole, water tanks, and tap water infrastructure. The principal has also been accused of poor coordination with staff, relying on a small inner circle to run the school. Growing discontent among parents and the local community has sparked calls for his immediate transfer. A later attempt to get his response failed, with the principal asking journalists to return the following day.