Overview
- A fire ripped through a dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil during the early hours of Thursday, killing 16 students and injuring about 79 others as many slept on the dorm's upper floor.
- The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has identified and arrested eight students as persons of interest in a suspected arson attack and is carrying out forensic reviews and witness interviews.
- Preliminary government findings say the dorm was overcrowded and an emergency exit was locked, and Education Minister Julius Ogamba has dissolved the school's board and ordered disciplinary and legal action against staff who may have failed in their duties.
- All 16 bodies have been recovered and moved to a morgue for identification, including DNA testing where needed, while dozens of injured pupils have been treated locally and several were transferred to Nairobi for specialist care.
- The blaze adds to a pattern of deadly dormitory fires in Kenya that have prompted safety audits and the closure of hundreds of noncompliant boarding schools and could lead to faster inspections and prosecutions if investigations confirm negligence or deliberate ignition.