A 17-year-old high school student accused of hitting and killing a fellow scholar will face murder charges, police have said.

The form three students at Dagoretti High School was arrested yesterday, a day after the victim was laid to rest at the Kariokor Muslim cemetery.

The student, whose identity cannot be revealed for legal reasons, was held at the Kabete police station for interrogation and is scheduled to appear in court today.

Ibrahim Athumani, who was admitted to hospital with a shattered jaw following the fistfight, died on Tuesday at a Nairobi hospital.

Dagoretti police chief Rashid Mohammed said yesterday the boy will be charged with murder.

The charges are, however, likely to be reduced to manslaughter, considering the circumstances under which the offence was committed.

Initial police investigations revealed the student engaged in a fistfight while in school last Sunday, leading to Athumani’s hospitalisation with serious injuries to the head.

Police sources said the students differed in class over a textbook, resulting in a physical confrontation.

Efforts to reach the school administration for a comment yesterday were futile as the principal was reported to be in meetings.

This is the latest heinous crime involving high school students. On September 2, an arson attack killed nine girls from Moi Girls’ School Nairobi.

Several students were injured.

Meanwhile....

The girl accused of settingMoi Girls' school on fire is set to face nine counts of murder and arson. The suspect’s parents have, however, defended their daughter and claimed a plot to fix the girl.

The parents said it was their 14-year-old daughter who sounded the alarm when the fire broke out. Speaking to the Star, the parents said they have a letter from their daughter articulating issues at the school.

Kamore Maina/The Star