9 Students Appear In Court Over Kenya School Arson That Killed 16 Girls

NAIROBI, Kenya — Nine students accused of readying and executing an arson onslaught that killed 16 girls astatine a schoolhouse successful cardinal Kenya appeared successful tribunal Tuesday.

Investigators asked for much clip to probe nan deadly fire. The High Court successful nan municipality of Naivasha, 55 miles westbound of nan capital, Nairobi, said it will rumor a ruling connected Wednesday connected whether nan girls could beryllium detained for a period pending investigations.

The occurrence connected May 28 ripped done nan Utumishi Girls School dormitory that houses 202 students. The schoolhouse matron grounded to unfastened an emergency door, forcing each students to scamper done a azygous door, according to investigators.

The accused girls person been successful constabulary custody for 5 days, during which interrogations revealed nan occurrence was started by lighting a mattress astatine nan dormitory’s exit utilizing a matchstick and paraffin. No motive has been revealed truthful far.

The results of DNA tests to find nan identities of immoderate of nan bodies that were charred beyond nickname are expected connected Wednesday.

CCTV footage obtained from nan razed dormitory showed six students starting nan occurrence moments earlier students woke up, rushing to flight nan blaze that near 79 wounded.

Since nan incident, 5 much schoolhouse occurrence incidents person occurred successful different parts of nan country, and nan Kenya Red Cross has responded to 37 schoolhouse fires since nan opening of nan year. No different schoolhouse occurrence has resulted successful casualties.

School fires are communal successful Kenya, wherever classrooms and dormitories are often crowded and firefighting instrumentality is seldom wrong reach. The deadliest occurred successful 2001, erstwhile 67 students died successful Machakos County, and nan astir caller fatal incident was successful 2024, erstwhile 21 children died successful Nyeri County.

There person besides been cases of students burning down schools because of disciplinary issues.

Musambi writes for nan Associated Press.