Kenyan Prosecutors Approve Murder Charges Against Students in School Fire
Kenyan authorities approved murder charges against nine students on Tuesday for their alleged roles in a dormitory fire that killed 16 girls at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil on May 28, 2026, according to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The suspects, who were arrested last month following interviews, forensic analysis and CCTV review, will each face 16 counts of murder when they appear in court in Naivasha, the ODPP said in a statement. The fire at the police-run boarding school about 120 kilometers northwest of Nairobi also left 79 students injured, although most have since been discharged from hospital.
The ODPP announcement followed a review of evidence that identified the students as persons of interest in the planning and execution of what investigators determined was an arson attack. Mattresses were set alight near an exit in a dormitory equipped with 135 bunk beds but housing 202 students, according to a government assessment that also flagged overcrowding and a locked emergency door as contributing factors. Education Minister Julius Ogamba stated that preliminary findings indicated multiple safety breaches at the school.
Kenya’s history of deadly school fires includes the 2001 Kyanguli Secondary School blaze in Machakos District that killed dozens of students after two teenagers set a dormitory alight, a case documented in court records and contemporary reports. In 2017, a fire at the prestigious Moi Girls School in Nairobi killed 10 students, leading to a teenager being charged with murder though later convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison in 2022, according to BBC coverage of the proceedings. Authorities have repeatedly warned about arson linked to student grievances over discipline or conditions.
The latest case has drawn parallels to those earlier incidents, with the ODPP highlighting a rise in school arson cases and vowing accountability through the justice system. The eight initial arrests were announced by the National Police Service days after the fire, with a ninth student later implicated as evidence mounted, multiple outlets including The New York Times and Associated Press reported at the time. Suspects remain in custody during the 21-day investigative period ahead of their court appearance.
Utumishi Girls Academy, which enrolls more than 800 students, came under immediate scrutiny for its safety protocols after the overnight blaze burned for more than two hours. Rescue efforts were hampered by the single functional exit, as students aged 15 to 18 struggled to escape the upper floor of the affected building, according to witness accounts relayed in AP dispatches. Officials have not publicly detailed any motive behind the suspected arson.
Prosecutors prepared the charges after consulting with police and reviewing all available material, the ODPP statement noted. The development arrives as Kenyan schools continue to grapple with enforcement of fire safety standards amid rapid enrollment growth. Julius Ogamba previously called for stricter adherence to regulations to prevent recurrence of such tragedies.
