Crime29 May, 20262 min read
Kenyan Police Arrest Eight Female Students Suspected Of Arson In Utumishi Girls Academy Fire
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Eight female students arrested on suspicion of arson after Utumishi Girls Academy dormitory fire. The fire killed 16 pupils and injured about 79 others.
Arrests After Dorm Fire
Kenyan police arrested eight female students on suspicion of arson after a fire at the Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil killed 16 students and injured 79 others. The fire broke out around 1 a.m. at the dormitory and was contained by 3 a.m., Education Minister Julius Ogamba said, with preliminary findings pointing to overcrowding and a locked exit door. The National Police Service said the eight pupils were identified as "persons of interest in connection with the planning and execution" of the fire, and police held 30 students overnight for questioning.
Investigators said the motive was still under investigation, while the Directorate of Criminal Investigations reported the girls were arrested for planning and carrying out a suspected arson attack at Utumishi Girls School. BBC also reported the fire tore through the upper floor of a dormitory with 135 bunk beds, as police continued interviews and a forensic review of CCTV footage.
Parents Seek Answers
As police questioned dozens of students and parents waited outside police stations and morgues, one parent told the Associated Press, "We have not even been told about the eight that police have arrested." The BBC described how Njuki Nthimba, looking for his niece, said, "I arrived at the school at 07:00 and three hours later I don't have any information." ABC News said police asked parents to head home without the girls and come back on Friday morning, while DCI spokesperson John Marete said investigators were conducting extensive interviews and a forensic review of CCTV footage.
Los Angeles Times reported that at a hospital morgue about 18 miles from the school, other parents awaited DNA tests to identify the charred remains. Education Minister Julius Ogamba said preliminary findings indicated multiple breaches of safety measures, including congestion in the dormitory and a locked exit door, and he dissolved the school’s board of management.
Safety Failures and Accountability
Ogamba said preliminary findings showed "multiple failures of safety measures at the school," including overcrowding in the dorms and a locked exit door, and he dissolved the school's management. BBC reported that Ogamba dissolved the school's board of management and ordered action against the headteacher, while saying appropriate disciplinary and legal steps would be taken against anyone found to have failed in their duties. UPI said the Education Ministry had audited schools' health and safety standards for the past 18 months and that almost 350 boarding schools had been shut down.
The BBC added that the fire resulted in injuries to 79 pupils, with some injured as a consequence of jumping from the first floor, and it said seven injured were transferred to Nairobi for specialised medical care. The BBC also placed the incident within Kenya’s history of deadly school fires, noting that just two years ago at least 21 people died in a dormitory fire in central Kenya.