Kenyan court charges eight schoolgirls with their fellow students' murder

Nairobi. A Kenyan court has charged eight schoolgirls with murder in connection with the deaths of 16 students who died in a dormitory fire at a school in the country’s Rift Valley region in late May, authorities said.

The girls died after a fire broke out at Utumishi Girls’ Academy Senior School in Gilgil, Nakuru County, injuring 79 other students. Pupils at the school are aged between 15 and 18 years.

The eight accused appeared before the Kibera High Court in Nairobi, where they all pleaded not guilty, according to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Prosecutors have not disclosed further details as investigations continue.

The incident has renewed concern over safety standards in Kenyan boarding schools and recurring cases of student unrest in the education sector.

School fires are relatively common in Kenya, with some linked to student protests over discipline and living conditions. The country has recorded several deadly incidents in recent years, including a 2024 fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County that killed 21 children.

In 2001, 67 students died in one of the country’s worst school fires at Kyanguli Secondary School near Nairobi, which authorities attributed to arson.

Following the latest incident, Education Minister Julius Ogamba said unrest had led to the temporary closure of at least 204 senior schools, although most institutions, including Utumishi Girls’ Academy, have since reopened.