NAIROBI, Kenya — Eight female students have been taken into custody by Kenyan authorities on suspicion of deliberately setting a fatal dormitory fire, officials announced Friday. The Thursday morning blaze at Utumishi Girls School in central Kenya claimed the lives of 16 children and left 79 others with injuries.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, a division of Kenya’s national police force, the detained students are suspected of orchestrating and executing the arson attack at the boarding facility. Investigators are still working to uncover what motivated the deadly incident.
Law enforcement officials spent all of Thursday interviewing 30 students from the school. Parents were instructed to return home without their daughters and come back Friday morning. However, families found themselves waiting without clear answers about when the remaining students would be allowed to leave.
DCI spokesperson John Marete detailed the ongoing investigation in an official statement: “Investigators have conducted extensive interviews with students, teaching staff, and other witnesses, while forensic teams carry out a detailed review of available CCTV footage.”
Parents gathered at the school Friday morning expressed frustration over the lack of communication from authorities. One mother, speaking anonymously due to concerns about potential retaliation against her daughter, told The Associated Press: “We have not even been told about the eight that police have arrested. We are just here and no one is giving us any information.”
Officials have not yet revealed what may have prompted the suspected arson. Marete explained that the investigation continues: “Detectives continue to record statements and analyze all available evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events, establish the full circumstances of the incident, and determine the motive.”
The 16 victims were transported to a government hospital morgue Thursday, where DNA analysis is being conducted to confirm their identities.
School fires have become a significant safety concern for educational authorities across East Africa. Many facilities suffer from overcrowded classrooms and dormitories while lacking proper firefighting equipment. These incidents are often linked to electrical problems or students deliberately setting fires due to disciplinary conflicts.
