Members of the clergy stand next to coffins of victims of an overnight dormitory fire at the Utumishi Girls Academy Senior School, during a memorial service at the Gilgil Stadium, in Gilgil, Nakuru county, Kenya, June 12, 2026. Image@ REUTERS/Monicah Mwangi/File Photo
A Nairobi court has ordered that the identities of eight teenage schoolgirls accused of murdering 16 classmates in a dormitory fire remain confidential as the case over one of Kenya’s deadliest school disasters in recent years heads to trial.
The eight girls, all minors from Utumishi Girls’ Academy Senior School in Gilgil, Nakuru County, appeared before Kibera High Court Judge Diana Kavedza on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to charges linked to the May 28 fire that killed 16 students and injured 79 others. The court directed that they be referred to as “subject minors” instead of suspects, in keeping with Kenya’s child protection and juvenile justice laws aimed at safeguarding their rights and avoiding stigma during the trial.
The blaze swept through the upper floor of a dormitory containing 135 bunk beds at the school in Kenya’s Rift Valley region. Students at the school are between 15 and 18 years old. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said in a statement on X that no further details about the case have been released.
The eight were not the only students initially taken into custody. A ninth student was released by a Naivasha court in late June after investigators found no evidence linking her to the fire. The court returned her to her parents while the remaining eight were charged. According to the National Police Service, investigators identified the eight as persons of interest after interviewing students and staff and reviewing forensic CCTV footage.
The case was moved from Naivasha to Nairobi because of concerns over the girls’ safety and fears that local public sentiment could affect the proceedings. Before entering their pleas, the court ordered mental health and age assessments at Mathari Mental Hospital. It also directed that each girl be assigned a pro bono lawyer and that child protection and care files be opened on their behalf. They have been staying at Kabete Children’s Home while the legal process continues.
The tragedy has renewed scrutiny of Kenya’s education system, particularly the safety of boarding schools and recurring episodes of student unrest. School fires have occurred repeatedly over the years, with many linked to protests over strict discipline or poor living conditions. The Utumishi fire has also revived calls from some education stakeholders to reconsider the country’s boarding-school model, including proposals to convert dormitories into laboratories or other academic facilities.
Kenya has suffered several deadly school fires. In 2024, a blaze at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County killed 21 children. The country’s worst school fire in recent decades occurred in 2001, when 67 boys died at Kyanguli Secondary School near Nairobi in an arson attack.
Education Minister Julius Ogamba said in May that unrest following the Utumishi tragedy forced the temporary closure of at least 204 senior schools across the country. Most have since resumed classes, including Utumishi Girls’ Academy.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah