Eight students arrested after Kenya school fire that killed 16 pupils

Published by Albis · 29 May 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.