Sixteen students were killed and 79 injured when fire swept through a dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, on May 28, 2026, the latest in a string of deadly blazes that have plagued Kenya’s boarding schools for decades.
The flames broke out around 1 a.m. local time at the girls’ boarding school in central Kenya, about 74 miles northwest of Nairobi, while more than 800 students slept on campus. The dormitory block housed approximately 220 students and was already engulfed when officers arrived, though firefighters brought the blaze under control by early morning.
Education Minister Julius Ogamba confirmed the death toll in a public statement, describing it as a “regrettable fire tragedy” and extending condolences to bereaved families. Most of the 79 injured students have been released from hospitals in the area.
A Familiar Tragedy in Kenya
The Utumishi disaster echoes a devastating history of school fires across the country. On the night of March 25, 2001, two 16-year-old students set a dormitory ablaze at Kyanguli Secondary School in Machakos County, killing 67 boys in what remains Kenya’s deadliest school fire — a crime attributed to student grievances over fee arrears and cancelled exam results. The case was declared a mistrial in 2006, and no one was ever punished.
On Sept. 5, 2024, a fire killed 21 pupils, most between ages 10 and 13, at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County, tearing through a dormitory that housed 156 boys.
Government data shows more than 100 school fires occurred across Kenya in 2024 alone. Investigators have repeatedly traced the high death tolls to the same structural failings: overcrowded dormitories, grilled windows that prevented escape, single exits, and doors that opened inward rather than outward. A 2024 Ministry of Education assessment identified these conditions and subsequently shuttered 348 schools that failed to meet safety standards.
Investigators have attributed past fires to a mix of arson — often blamed on disgruntled students protesting discipline or living conditions — and accidental causes.
Following the fire, the Ministry of Education dissolved Utumishi’s Board of Management for failing to comply with safety regulations, confirming the dormitory had been overcrowded and an exit door was locked at the time of the blaze. Three teachers were placed under disciplinary review and nationwide boarding school inspections were announced.
Frantic Escape From the Flames
Police said the fire is believed to have started on the first floor of the dormitory while students were asleep. Some on upper floors jumped from windows to escape the smoke and heat, sustaining broken bones and other injuries on impact. Others fled into the surrounding countryside in panic, prompting an extended search by officers in the hours after the blaze.
“As we speak, our officers are combing the area because some students fled in shock and fear during the night,” Nakuru County police commander Masoud Mwinyi told reporters at the scene.
The Kenya Red Cross said its first responders, an E-Plus ambulance crew and psychosocial support personnel deployed to the school in the early hours of the morning to assist students and coordinate with other agencies. Access to the campus was restricted throughout the day, with only parents permitted past the police line as the investigation began.
The school is linked to the National Police Service, and most of its pupils are children of officers.
Parents Wait in Anguish
About 12 hours after the fire was extinguished, parents were still on the ground, some pleading with officers for any scrap of information. Outside the gates, families queued for hours waiting for word on their daughters.
“We trusted this school with our children. Right now we don’t even know who is alive,” one parent told the BBC.
Roselyn Rakamba rushed to the academy after a friend alerted her to the fire. On the way, her 14-year-old daughter reached her by phone to say she was safe. The relief, Rakamba said, was tempered by grief for those whose children had not survived.
Wambui Nderitu arrived to look for her cousin and found her with a broken leg — one of the students who had jumped from an upper floor. “When we arrived at the school, we were told to queue. Most of us were so worried because we had heard some students had died and others were injured and in the hospital,” Nderitu said. Her cousin had survived. The bodies of the 16 victims were transferred to Naivasha Sub-County Hospital Mortuary, where parents were directed to report for DNA testing to assist with identification.
Investigation Underway
The cause of the May 28 fire was not immediately known. Ogamba said investigators would provide updates as the inquiry progressed and urged the public to refrain from speculation. Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen also addressed the nation, asking Kenyans to stand with the bereaved families in prayer.
Within days, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations announced a breakthrough, identifying eight students as persons of interest through forensic analysis of closed-circuit television footage. All eight were arrested. A ninth suspect was subsequently added, bringing the total to nine. They were arraigned at Naivasha Law Courts on June 2, and on June 3 Chief Magistrate Abdulqadir Lorot Ramathan denied bail and remanded them to Nakuru Children’s Remand Home for 21 days, with the case set for mention on June 24. The girls face investigation for murder and arson. In statements to detectives, they cited three grievances: the school moving examination dates forward, a mandatory charge for a cultural event, and peer influence following a strike at a neighboring boys’ school. They told investigators they did not intend to kill their classmates.
Mwinyi summed up the mood at the scene as parents continued to file past the gates in search of news. “It is a sad and distressing situation,” he said.