Kenyan police have arrested eight students over a suspected arson attack at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, where a dormitory fire killed 16 children and left 79 others hospitalized.
The fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday and badly damaged the upper floor of the two-storey dormitory, which had 12 cubicles and 135 bunk beds. Investigators said the students are persons of interest as they continue reviewing interviews, CCTV footage, and other forensic evidence.
All 16 bodies have been recovered and moved to the mortuary pending identification, police said.
Distraught parents gathered at the school when news of the fire broke on Thursday , and by the evening some were still uncertain about the fate of their children.
There have been many devastating school fires in Kenya, where boarding schools are common as a colonial legacy of missionaries and the British.
Children have been accused of deliberately starting school fires in Kenya in the past. One report found there were 63 arson cases at schools in 2018 alone.
Pupils were accused after a 2001 dormitory fire in the southern county of Machakos killed 67.
A 2024 dormitory fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri county killed 21 boys, prompting government promises of nationwide school safety audits and prosecutions, though it remains unclear whether the measures were implemented.
On Thursday, the education minister said the ministry had closed around 350 schools since 2024 for failing to comply with safety standards.