Thika High School Student Mohamed Hare Dies After Dormitory Prayer Dispute

Sixteen-year-old Mohamed Hare, a Grade 10 student at Thika High School, died on the evening of Friday, July 10, after what the school says began as a dispute over who would lead evening prayers before it turned into a physical altercation with a classmate. He was pronounced dead at Thika Level 5 Hospital. A fellow student, also a minor, has been arrested and is being held at Thika Police Station as investigations continue.

Principal Julius Muraya said the confrontation began around 10pm, as students prepared to pray before heading to their dormitories. A disagreement over who would lead the prayers escalated from there.

“The differences caused the fight between the two of them,” Muraya said.

Mohamed was first treated at the school dispensary before being rushed to Thika Level 5 Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

What actually happened is still unclear

Here’s where accounts diverge. Some reports say Mohamed collapsed during the altercation. Others describe him falling and hitting his head. At least one account describes a fall from an upper floor of a school building. None of these versions has been confirmed by an official post-mortem, which is still pending at General Kago Mortuary.

Police have said as much themselves. “We do not know exactly what happened between them,” a police officer told reporters as investigations continue.

A mother’s unbearable call

Mohamed’s mother, Ayah Noor Hassan, said the school’s deputy principal called to tell her there had been a fight. She didn’t want details. Her first question was simple: “Is my son dead or alive?”

The call ended without an answer. She travelled to the hospital and found her son already gone.

Family demands accountability

Relatives say they only learned the full truth through a call from a police commander, not directly from the school. Family spokesperson Mohamed Aden pushed back on how the school handled it.

“We gave you the responsibility of that child,” Aden said.

The classmate involved was arrested and is being held at Thika Police Station as a minor while investigations continue. No charges have been announced.

A student dying inside a school compound raises real questions that go beyond this one incident, including how schools handle disputes between boarders after hours and how quickly they’re expected to inform parents when something goes wrong. Mohamed’s family says they got neither straight answers nor a direct call. That’s the part still unresolved, alongside what exactly happened in that classroom.