Kenyan police have arrested eight students in connection with a suspected arson attack at a girls’ boarding school that killed 16 students and left 79 others hospitalised.
The fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, about 120 kilometres north of Nairobi.
Authorities said the upper floor of the two-storey dormitory building, which contained 12 cubicles and 135 bunk beds, was extensively damaged by the blaze.
In a statement on Friday, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations said preliminary findings had identified eight students as persons of interest in the planning and execution of the suspected arson attack.
Investigators said they had conducted extensive interviews with students and teachers while also reviewing CCTV footage and other forensic evidence to establish the cause of the fire, which remains unknown.
The school is affiliated with Kenya’s National Police Service, and many of the students are children of police officers.
Police confirmed that all 16 bodies had been recovered and transferred to a mortuary pending identification.
Distraught parents gathered at the school after news of the fire emerged on Thursday, with several families still uncertain about the fate of their children by evening.
Kenya has experienced several deadly school fires over the years, particularly in boarding schools, which remain common in the country due to the legacy of missionary and British colonial education systems.
Authorities have previously linked some school fires to deliberate acts by students. A past report indicated that Kenya recorded 63 school arson cases in 2018 alone.
In 2001, a dormitory fire in Machakos County killed 67 students after pupils were accused of starting the blaze.
Another dormitory fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County in 2024 claimed the lives of 21 boys, prompting government promises of nationwide school safety inspections and prosecutions, although it remains unclear how fully the measures were implemented.
Kenya’s education minister said on Thursday that about 350 schools had been shut down since 2024 for failing to meet required safety standards.
