Eight students arrested after Kenya school fire that killed 16 pupils

Last updated May 29, 2026

Kenyan police have arrested eight students suspected of involvement in a deadly dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Academy, as officials point to safety failures including overcrowding and a locked exit door

• The arrests turn a tragedy into a wider accountability and school-safety story with public trust implications.
• Sixteen pupils died after a fire tore through the upper floor of a dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, about 120km north-west of Nairobi, in the early hours of Thursday.
• The dormitory had 135 bunk beds, and the blaze has now become both a criminal investigation and a school-safety reckoning.
• Kenya’s National Police Service said eight students had been arrested after interviews with students and staff and a forensic review of CCTV footage, the BBC reported.
• Police identified the eight as “persons of interest in connection with the planning and execution” of the fire.

Still unclear: What local readers are seeing from the ground

Based only on supplied evidence from BBC, Reuters excerpt, The Independent and AP. The cause, motive and legal findings remain under investigation; allegations against detained students are reported as police suspicions, not established guilt.