Overview
- A dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil caught fire in the early hours of Thursday and the blaze overwhelmed the upper floor, leaving 16 students dead and 79 injured.
- All 16 bodies were recovered and taken to a government morgue for identification and DNA testing while many of the injured were treated at local hospitals and some were transferred to Nairobi for specialist care.
- The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said it has detained eight students as persons of interest and forensic teams are reviewing CCTV footage and witness statements to determine whether the fire was deliberately set.
- Education officials reported multiple safety failures at the school, including overcrowded dormitories and a locked emergency exit, and the government has dissolved the school board and ordered disciplinary and legal action against staff found to have neglected duties.
- The tragedy feeds into a pattern of deadly boarding-school fires in Kenya and follows a broad safety audit that has closed nearly 350 non-compliant schools since 2024, prompting renewed scrutiny of enforcement and student welfare.