Arson possible cause of deadly Utumishi Girls Academy fire that claimed 16 lives, police say

Detectives believe a fire that broke out at a school in Gilgil, Nakuru County was the work of arsonists.

A team pursuing the matter at Utumishi Girls Academy said they were narrowing down to some students behind the incident.

The students are believed to have escaped the scene as their colleagues burnt down.

The motive is yet to be known. The team said they were pursuing the arsonists’ whereabouts for grilling.

A team from the DCI headquarters joined those on the ground in investigating the tragedy.

The news of the deaths broke many families on Thursday morning.

Dozens of other students were injured and taken to hospital – 71 were later discharged and seven admitted for further treatment, Education Minister Julius Ogamba said while visiting the scene of the blaze.

He said the cause of the fire had not yet been established and investigations were ongoing.

The fire at the Utumishi Girls Academy started in the early hours of Thursday as the students were asleep.

Police said 74 other students were admitted to hospital with injuries following the incident on Thursday morning.

Rift Valley Regional Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi said seven who remained in hospital were flown to Nairobi for further treatment.

The bodies were moved to the mortuary for autopsy.

Anxious parents and relatives have been gathering at the scene waiting for news of their loved ones.

The education minister said the fire broke out on the first floor of one of the dormitories, which was “completely destroyed” in the blaze.

“The response teams managed to put out the fire by about 03:00, but by then the damage had already been done,” he said.

He added that the school would begin releasing students to their parents and guardians throughout the day as authorities continue investigations.

Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen, who was also among the officials gathered at the school, sent his condolences to the bereaved families.

“It’s a very anxious moment and even as we account for the 16 so far identified as having passed on, I want to ask the people of Kenya that together we stand with the families… in prayer, in support.

“I ask everyone to be patient and avoid speculation,” he said.

Fires are not uncommon in Kenyan boarding schools, with several deadly incidents reported in recent years. Many have been the result of arson, with disgruntled pupils – angry about the discipline and living conditions – accused of being responsible, while others were caused by accident.

Overcrowding in dormitories and the failure to follow safety guidelines, such as keeping exits clear and windows unlocked, have frequently been blamed for the high number of casualties.

According to the police, the fire in Gilgil broke out around 01:00 am and engulfed a dormitory block housing about 220 students.

More than 800 children were in the school at the time of the tragedy.

Kenya has had a long history of school fires, with the deadliest being in 2001 when 67 students died in Machakos county, south-east of the capital, after some students set fire to a dormitory.

In 2024, at least 21 people died in a dormitory fire in central Kenya.

The ministry of education’s assessment of schools compliance to safety standards later that year found that most “had dormitories with grills on the windows, single exits and doors that opened inwards hence compromising safety of the occupants”.

Congestion was also found to be common in the schools. Following the review, the ministry said it had closed “348 schools with immediate effect”.

In November 2021, the ministry of education issued a response to a parliamentary committee which had requested more information on school arson and revealed that there were 126 such cases between January and November 2020.