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At least 16 students have died and 79 are hospitalized after a fire tore through a girls' dormitory at the Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, Kenya. According to authorities, the fire began just before 1:00 a.m. (10:00 p.m. GMT) on Thursday.
The school is linked to the National Police Service, and most students are the children of officers, said Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen. It was unclear how old the victims of Thursday's blaze were.
Parents were being held outside the school buildings by authorities as investigators raced to identify the victims.
"We know that this is a very anxious moment," Murkomen told reporters.
Education Minister Julius Migos Ogamba, who also spoke to reporters at the scene, said, "We have 16 fatalities. It's an unfortunate incident."
President William Ruto termed the event an "unimaginable tragedy" on X. "Our hearts and prayers are with the families who have lost their beloved daughters," Ruto said.
There have been many devastating school fires in Kenya, where boarding schools are common as a colonial legacy of missionaries and the British.
Asked about the cause of the fire, Murkomen called for patience while investigations were ongoing and urged people to avoid speculation.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced to a local news outlet that the government has activated 1199 for parents to report information regarding students who may have left the school with relatives or guardians after the incident.
Ogamba further revealed that the institution has a total population of 815 girls, with 808 students present in school at the time of the fire incident. Seven others were home due to undisclosed reasons.
According to Ogamba, 16 students have so far been confirmed dead. Seventy-nine sustained injuries during the incident and were rushed to the hospital for treatment, with 71 treated and later discharged.
Children have been accused of deliberately starting school fires in the past, with one report finding 63 arson cases at schools in 2018 alone.
Students were accused after a 2001 dormitory fire in the southern county of Machakos killed 67 people. More recently, a fire in 2024 killed 21 boys after flames engulfed a dormitory at the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County.
A 2017 report by Kenya's National Crime Research Center blamed exam stress and long school terms for the trend, noting that students in different schools were communicating via smuggled phones, leading to copycat acts.
Following the deadly 2024 fire, the government promised a safety audit of all schools and vowed to prosecute violators, but it remains unclear if any measures were implemented.
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