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Utumishi fire tragedy: Eight students arrested in arson probe
Red Cross volunteers and Homicide detectives remove the bodies of the 16 students from Utumishi Girls Senior who perished in a dormitory inferno on May 28, 2026.
Eight learners from Utumishi Girls Senior School in Gilgil, Nakuru, have been arrested following the fire that killed sixteen of their colleagues.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the eight are suspected of arson.
In a statement Friday, the DCI said that after extensive early investigations, the students were directly linked to planning and execution of the deadly fire.
"We have conducted extensive interviews with students, teaching staff and other witnesses and reviewed available CCTV cameras. Preliminary investigations have identified eight students as persons of interest in connection with the planning and execution of the suspected arson attack," said the DCI.
"The eight girls have since been arrested and are currently in police custody. Detectives continue to record statements and analyse all available evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events, establish the full circumstances of the incident and determine the motive."
The results of the preliminary probe match what survivors told the Nation yesterday. Students who escaped the tragedy and their parents revealed that the fire could have been a result of an arson attack.
A Form Three student said the fire started in the middle of the dormitory that accommodates Form Threes, Grade 10 and Form 4 students.
A parent revealed that according to her daughter’s account, the fire was started by a group of Form Three students who set a mattress on fire, before it quickly spread.
"My daughter told me that a group of unruly Form Three students, who were protesting alleged high-handedness of the school administration, set a mattress on fire," said the parent.
"She explained that the fire started at a bed in the middle of the dormitory...Since her bed was located near the entrance, she was able to escape unhurt. She told us most students were asleep."
The area where the fire reportedly started had about 10 double-decker beds.
According to the school, the Meline Waithera Block dormitory which was destroyed by the fire housed 220 students. The tragedy left 16 learners dead and 79 nursing various injuries.
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