16 Students Killed in Kenyan School Fire; Eight Arrested for Suspected Arson

M. on May 28 and killed 16 students. m. Eight female high-school students were arrested on May 29 in connection with the fire.

The Kenya Directorate of Criminal Investigations described the girls as "persons of interest" in the suspected arson attack. Education Minister Julius Ogamba said the students could be charged as soon as Tuesday. Preliminary findings showed the dormitory was overcrowded and one exit door was locked, contrary to prescribed safety requirements.

Ogamba said he had dissolved the school's board of management. Seven children were flown to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi for specialized care. Parents told the BBC that students had to jump from windows to escape.

M. looking for his niece, said school officers asked parents to separate into three groups: those whose children had been arrested, those whose children had died, and those who did not know where their children were. ], and 3 hours later I don't have any information," he said.

Samuel Githua came to the school to find his sister. "I don't know where my sister is. We've been told some children are in hospital, some in the mortuary," he said. "Our mother died when we were young, so I have taken care of her like a father and mother.

The Utumishi Girls Academy is run by Kenya's police and is located 77 miles northwest of Nairobi. Kenya has recorded multiple deadly school fires linked to overcrowding and locked exits. In 2024, 21 people died in a dormitory fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri, 100 miles north of Nairobi.

Kenya's deadliest school fire occurred in 2001 when students set a blaze that killed 67 at a school in Machakos, about 40 miles south of Nairobi. Ogamba said the Education Ministry has audited health and safety standards at boarding schools for the past 18 months and has closed almost 350 such schools.