NAKURU, Kenya – A fire at a girls’ school dormitory in Kenya on Thursday, May 28, 2026, left 16 people dead and 73 hospitalized.
Okay News reports that a spokesperson for the Kenyan Red Cross confirmed the deployment of emergency personnel.
The fire began at approximately 1:00 am local time inside Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, located 120 kilometres north of Nairobi. Local authorities stated the blaze occurred in a building where around 220 girls were sleeping, while a police source provided the casualty figures to Agence France-Presse.
The Kenyan Red Cross spokesperson said, “First responders, ambulance crew and our support personnel are currently on the ground.” The representative declined to provide an exact death toll. Local media reported that authorities held parents outside the school boundaries.
The academy is associated with the National Police Service and is situated in an area containing army and training facilities.
A previous fire in 2024 at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County killed 21 boys, while a separate report noted 63 arson cases at schools in 2018. A 2017 report by the National Crime Research Centre attributed past school fires to exam stress and long terms. Following the 2024 incident, the government promised to conduct a safety audit of all schools and prosecute violators.
