Six students arrested after fire guts dorm at Tenwek Boys High School
A dormitory that was destroyed by fire at Tenwek Boys' High School in Bomet County in this photo taken on July 9, 2026. No student was injured.
Six students have been arrested in connection with a dormitory fire at Tenwek Boys High School in Bomet County.
The fire broke out on Wednesday night, consuming the upper floor of the school's newly constructed, single-storey dormitory.
Students lost their belongings, including bedding, uniforms, books and other personal items, while members of the community rushed to help put out the blaze.
"We have arrested six learners in connection with the fire incident, which is being treated as a case of arson. They are being interrogated as investigations continue," a senior police officer in Bomet County said.
He said a comprehensive statement on the incident would be released later. Education officials declined to comment, saying the Ministry of Education headquarters would issue a statement on the fire.
Parents at the entrance of Tenwek Boys' High School in Bomet on July 9, 2026.
First reported arson case
It's the first time in the institution's history that a fire caused by arson has been reported.
"It is unfortunate that the fire has consumed the newly built dormitory in a school that has been the pride of the region and has produced some of the most prominent professionals and leaders in the country, including my late father, Cabinet Minister Kipkalya Kones," Ms Yvonne Chepkirui Kones, a businesswoman, told journalists at the school on Thursday.
Ms Chepkirui noted with concern that the rising incidence of school fires signals a lapse in parenting across the country.
"There is a need for parents and the community to instil a high sense of discipline among children, and to deal with the myriad issues facing them. The blame game over who is responsible for guiding learners to be good citizens should come to an end. We should all focus on producing good citizens of this country," Ms Chepkirui said.
School Principal Mutali Chesebe told parents during a meeting that no child had been injured in the fire, with investigations having been taken over by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) of the National Police Service (NPS).
"Normal learning has resumed in the school, and we are expecting learners to sit their examinations, which were due, as we deal with the aftermath of the fire," Mr Chesebe told parents.
Parents were informed that learners would be temporarily accommodated in other structures within the institution until reconstruction is complete.
On Thursday, when the Nation visited the institution, learners were in class as parents arrived to check on them. Security officers had a hectic time controlling parents who jammed the institution's entrance seeking word on the state of their children following the fire.
"We learnt of the fire incident at night, and we travelled this morning to check on our children, who we had been told were not affected and had resumed learning as usual," said Mr Peter Bett, a resident.
Cases of fire outbreaks had been reported before students across the country broke for the mid-term holidays, with some institutions closing early.
The incident at Tenwek Boys High School is the first to be reported in the South Rift region since schools reopened after the mid-term break in the second term of the year.
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