Nine Students Appear in Court Over Kenya School Fire That Killed 16 Girls

Nine students accused of planning and executing an arson attack appeared in court Tuesday in the town of Naivasha. The High Court said it will issue a ruling on Wednesday on whether the students can be detained for a month while investigations continue.

The fire occurred on May 28 at a girls school dormitory that houses 202 students. Investigators said the school matron did not open an emergency door, forcing students to exit through a single door.

CCTV footage showed six students starting the fire by lighting a mattress at the dormitory exit with a matchstick and paraffin. The accused students have been in police custody for five days. DNA test results to identify some of the charred bodies are expected on Wednesday. No motive has been disclosed.

Since the incident, five additional school fires have occurred in different parts of the country. The Kenya Red Cross has responded to 37 school fires since the beginning of the year, though none have resulted in casualties. School fires are common in Kenya, where classrooms and dormitories are often crowded and firefighting equipment is rarely within reach.

The deadliest such incident occurred in 2001, when 67 students died in Machakos County.