NAKURU, Kenya — Kenyan police have arrested eight students suspected of launching a fatal arson attack at a girls’ boarding school that killed 16 children and hospitalized 79 others.
The devastating blaze broke out in the early hours of Thursday, May 28, 2026, ripping through a packed double-storey dormitory housing over 130 bunk beds at the Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County.
Okay News reports that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) identified the eight students as primary persons of interest following intensive staff interviews, forensic sweeps, and a review of internal CCTV footage tracking the moments before the outbreak.
Education Minister Julius Ogamba revealed that preliminary findings indicate two teachers had been tipped off by students regarding an impending plot but failed to intervene or notify school security. The minister also noted severe compliance failures at the institution, citing heavily overcrowded dormitories and a locked emergency exit that forced panicked students to escape by jumping from upper-floor windows.
In response to the disaster, the Kenyan government has immediately dissolved the school’s board of management and promised strict prosecutions for negligence. The tragedy has hit the national security community heavily, as Utumishi Girls Academy is directly sponsored by the Kenya Police Service, meaning the majority of the victims and traumatized survivors are the daughters of serving police officers.
