- The affected students are reportedly between the ages of 15 and 18
- Fires common in Kenyan schools, many attributed to arson
- Cause of fire under investigation, government says
At least 16 students have died after a fire swept through a girls’ secondary school dormitory in Kenya’s Rift Valley region, government officials confirmed on Thursday.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the incident occurred shortly after midnight at Utumishi Girls’ Academy Senior School in Gilgil, a town located in west-central Kenya.
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Education Minister Julius Migos said the fire burned for more than two hours before it was brought under control.
According to the government, 79 other students sustained injuries during the incident, although 71 of them have since been discharged from hospital.
The affected students are reportedly between the ages of 15 and 18.
Authorities said investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the fire, but no official conclusion had yet been reached.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen appealed to the public to avoid speculation while investigators continue their work.
However, some survivors reportedly told first responders that the blaze may have started after a student allegedly set a mattress on fire with a match.
The source, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorised to address the media, said the motive behind the alleged action remained unclear.
Reports from emergency responders indicated that doors on the upper floor where the fire started were initially locked, forcing some students to jump through windows in attempts to escape.
The tragedy left parts of the school badly damaged, with broken windows and smoke-stained walls visible across the building.
Hundreds of anxious relatives gathered at the school on Thursday morning seeking information about their children and loved ones.
One parent, Eunice Mureithi, whose daughter survived the incident, said the fire spread rapidly through the upper section of the building, trapping many students before others managed to escape.
School fires have remained a recurring problem in Kenya, with government records showing more than 100 incidents reported in 2024 alone.
Researchers have linked many of the fires to student unrest over disciplinary measures and poor living conditions in boarding schools.
In 2024, another dormitory fire at a boarding primary school in Nyeri County claimed the lives of 21 students.
One of Kenya’s deadliest school fire tragedies occurred in 2001 at Kyanguli Secondary School near Nairobi, where 67 students were killed in a blaze authorities later blamed on arson.
