GEORGETOWN, Guyana - A 15-year-old female student, who allegedly lit the fire that claimed the lives of 19 children in the female dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School on Sunday (May 21), was this morning (May 29) arraigned on 19 counts of Murder.
The teen had appeared virtually before Magistrate Sunil Scarce at the Diamond Magistrate’s Court and was remanded to the Juvenile Holding Centre until Tuesday, July 4, 2023.
Officials of both the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) had alleged that the fire was maliciously set by a female student, who was aggrieved over her phone being confiscated by the dormitory mother and a teacher.
That had led to the GPF, on Wednesday (Mar. 24), sending the case file to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who this media house learned recommended murder charges be laid against her.
Police also said that the accused was not required to plea to the indictable charges.
Like many other territories across the Caribbean region, the Laws of Guyana prohibit the naming of juveniles who are accused or convicted of a crime.
In this case, however, though the accused student is a juvenile, she is older than 14 years, thus the charges of murder laid against her.
At about 11:00 p.m. on Sunday (May 21), the fire erupted at the dormitory and the GFS had reported that its point of origin was in the lavatory area situated at the south-western part of the building.
At the time of the fire, 56 female students were within the dormitory - a one-flat concrete and wooden building with 26 heavily grilled windows and five doors that were padlocked.
The GFS in a statement said that around 11:15 p.m. ranks at the Mahdia Fire Station were alerted by a civilian of the fire, and that an all-terrain vehicle #1 and crew under the command of Sub-Officer Scott immediately responded.
It also stated that on arrival at the scene, firefighters observed that the building was engulfed in flames.
A female student had reportedly told the police that while asleep shey were awakened by shouts and screams and, upon investigating, she found a fire lit in the bathroom area which quickly spread throughout the building.
Knowing that the children were trapped in the building, firefighters and a number of public-spirited citizens made holes in the north-eastern concrete wall and rescued 20 of them. But their efforts to rescue all of the children were in vain, as as 14 of them, including a five-year-old male, had already perished in the inferno.
The injured students, some of whom received burns and also suffered from smoke inhalation, were taken to the Mahadia District Hospital, where five of them were pronounced dead.
Six other children, in critical condition, were reportedly medivaced to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation for further treatment, and on Sunday (May 28) one of them was flown to New York for advanced medical treatment.
According to Kaiteur News, the Mayor of Mahdia, David Adams, told that publication that the tragedy was “compounded by the fact that we only have one fire tender in the township and what made it also difficult is the fact that they had no fire hydrant in the area where the fire took place. So, the firefighters had to shuttle water from the creek to the school, where the fire was. They really tried their best, given the circumstances and what they had to work with”.
The Mayor also reportedly told that publication that the students did not have any training on fire prevention measures.
He confirmed that the dormitory was not equipped with any fire extinguisher at the time of the fire and explained: “Going forward, we have to look at the systems that are in place for dormitory and schools, and ensuring that the necessary precautions are taken.”
The children who perished in the fire are: Nicholeen Robinson, Martha D’Andrade, Shorline Bellarmine, Eulanda Carter, Adonijah Jerome, Subrina John, Cleoma Simon, Tracil Thomas, Andrea Roberts, Lisa Roberts, Rita Jeffery, Loreen Evans, Delicia Edwards, Belnisa Evans, Lorita Williams, Mary D’Andrade, Omefa Evans, Natalie Bellarmine and Arianna Edwards.
