At least 15 pupils dead in fire at Kenya girls’ boarding school

At least 15 students have died in a fire that tore through a girls’ boarding school in central Kenya early on Thursday morning.

The fire erupted at around 1am in a dormitory of the Utumishi Girls School in Nakuru County and quickly spread across the halls, local police said.

Gilgil police said ‌at least 74 ⁠students had also been injured in the incident and that the fire had been contained. Firefighters and police officers had fanned out to control the blaze and evacuate other students, according to local reports.

So far, the cause of the fire has not been established.

"It is a distressing and saddening situation," police official Masoud Mwinyi said, while addressing ​distraught parents outside the school. Parents, who were woken up by the tragic news, have begun arriving since 5am local time from across the country.

Police said they were informed of the incident at around 4.30am by school principal Joycelene Muraguri. Teams of officers, accompanied by detectives, rushed to the school, located about 7km north of the station, to find the dormitory block already engulfed in flames.

The burnt Meline Waithera Block dormitory was housing 220 pupils, most of them studying in Grade 10, according to reports – making them between 15 and 17 years old.

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The school has been cordoned off, with only parents being allowed inside along with government officials, who have arrived to assess the situation, coordinate investigations, and support ongoing emergency response.

One guardian described seeing students desperately trying to escape from the burning dormitory. “Those who were on the upper floor were jumping, and that is why most of them were hurt," she told reporters outside the school.

"We have heard that some of them were burnt and are in the hospital. We have not been told how many students have passed on. I’m lucky to have found my aunt’s child. She has a broken leg, but she will be fine,” she said.

“I condole with the parents who have lost their children. I ask the government to conduct a speedy investigation to find out what happened.”

She added that some parents had fainted upon arriving at the school, who are now being supported by the Red Cross team.

The Kenya Red Cross said they have dispatched teams to support rescue efforts and assist affected students.

President William Ruto in a post on X conveyed his condolences to the families of students who were killed in the school fire. “Our hearts and prayers are with the families who have lost their beloved daughters in the tragic fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil,” the post read.

"No words can truly ease the pain of losing young lives filled with promise, hope, and dreams for the future. As a nation, we mourn with the parents, guardians, teachers, and fellow students who are enduring this unimaginable tragedy."

Kalonzo Musyoka, leader of the opposition Wiper Patriotic Front party, called on the government to take concrete action to protect students at boarding schools and prevent similar tragedies in the future.

Mr Musyoka, who has previously served as the vice president of Kenya, said: “Today, as the political leadership gathers for the National Prayer Breakfast, I call upon them not to let today’s prayers end in that hall. Let them translate into urgent and decisive action.”

He added: “Let us honour these young lives not merely with tears and tributes, but with action that ensures no other family endures this unbearable pain.”

Fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, with some caused by arson and others by electrical faults. Kenya's deadliest school fire in recent history occurred in 2001 when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos County.

In 2024, 21 students were burned to death in a school fire in central Kenya, prompting president Ruto to declare three days of mourning.

About 10 students died in a school fire in the capital Nairobi in 2021. A student was charged with murder.

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