Fire damage can be seen on a building at Utumishi Girls Academy, Kenya. Photo / AFP
A fire in a girls’ dormitory in Kenya has killed 16 children and hospitalised 79 in the latest deadly blaze to hit a school in the east African country.
The fire broke out shortly before 1am local time at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, about 120km north of the capital Nairobi, officials said.
There have been many school fires in Kenya, where boarding schools are common as a colonial legacy of missionaries and the British.
Education Minister Julius Migos Ogamba told reporters at the scene “we have 16 fatalities. It’s an unfortunate incident”. He did not give the ages of the victims
Parents of the victims were in the process of being informed by health workers at the site mid-afternoon as bodies were identified.
A distraught mother, Leila Matura, 52, said her 18-year-old daughter was still missing.
Authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the fire.
Children have been accused of deliberately starting school fires in Kenya in the past. One report found there were 63 arson cases at schools in 2018 alone.
Pupils were accused after a 2001 dormitory fire in the southern county of Machakos killed 67.
A 2024 dormitory fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri county killed 21 boys, prompting Government promises of nationwide school safety audits and prosecutions, though it remains unclear whether the measures were implemented.
On Thursday, Ogamba said the ministry had closed about 350 schools since 2024 for failing to comply with safety standards.
He pledged: “We will continue inspections to ensure that our schools meet the safety standards”.
- AFP