Chaos as property is destroyed in fire at Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School

A midnight fire destroyed the administration block at Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School in Nakuru County, leaving offices and valuable school equipment in ruins.

Police said the incident was reported shortly after midnight on Monday by the school’s principal.

Police responded to the scene alongside firefighters and established that the administration block had been completely gutted.

Among the facilities destroyed were the chief principal’s office, deputy principal’s office, teachers’ staff room, teachers’ kitchen and the accounts office.

Police said the fire also destroyed electronic equipment, including televisions, computers, Wi-Fi equipment, biometric kits, a DStv decoder, water tanks and window panes. The total value of the losses is yet to be determined by the school administration.

Preliminary investigations indicate the fire may have been deliberately set.

Police said initial inquiries suggest the incident could be linked to dissatisfaction among some students after they were reportedly denied permission to attend an academic function held at the neighbouring Jomo Kenyatta Girls High School on July 11, to which they had not been invited.

The school’s principal told investigators that the students had appeared calm and had shown no signs of planning any disturbance before the incident.

No injuries were reported.

Police said security has been reinforced at both Jomo Kenyatta Boys High School and the neighbouring girls’ school as investigations continue into the cause of the fire and those responsible.

The school had resumed learning after an earlier similar chaos that forced the parents to be fined Sh4,000.

There has been an increase in fire incidents in higher learning institutions in a worrying trend. Most of them are started by arsonists. The worst one was at Utumishi Girls in Gilgil in May 2026 where 16 girls were killed. At least eight girls are facing murder charges over the incident.

On Sunday nights, a section of students at Upper Hill school in Nairobi went on riot and destroyed property after a football match where they were defeated by Highway Secondary. The parents of the school were called to pick up their children as part of efforts to contain the riots.