Kenya school fire kills at least 15 students

At least 15 students died in a dormitory fire that swept through Utumishi Girls' Academy Senior School in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya, overnight. Police confirmed the fatalities on Thursday, with an unknown number of other students sustaining injuries.

The cause of the devastating blaze remains undetermined, according to a report from the Gilgil Police Station. Images from the scene showed broken window panes and smoke-damaged walls, stark evidence of the fire's intensity.

This incident adds to Kenya's troubling history of school fires. Government data from 2018 recorded over 60 arson cases in public secondary schools alone. Researchers have found that many of these fires are set by students protesting harsh discipline and poor living conditions.

Senior police commander Masoud Mwinyi stated that 50 officers were searching the areas surrounding the school for any students who might have fled during the chaos. "Of that shock and fear and anxiety, many people went out, and it was at night," he explained, referencing the panic that likely ensued.

In 2024, a similar fire claimed the lives of 21 students at a primary boarding school in nearby Nyeri County, though the cause of that incident has not been conclusively established.

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Of that shock and fear and anxiety, many people went out, and it was at night