Eight Kenyan schoolgirls have pleaded not guilty to murder charges over a dormitory fire that killed 16 fellow students and injured dozens more at a boarding school in the country's Rift Valley region.
The minors appeared before High Court Judge Diana Kavedza in Nairobi on Wednesday in connection with the 28 May blaze at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County. The fire swept through a dormitory, killing 16 students and injuring 79 others in one of Kenya's deadliest school disasters in recent years.
The girls face 16 counts of murder following investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the subsequent approval of charges by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
At the start of the proceedings, Kavedza emphasised that the defendants should be treated as children throughout the case.
“Nobody should call them accused persons. We do not have an accused person. These are children, we shall refer to them and address them as minor subjects,” she said.
Reading the charges before the court, Kavedza said: “The subject minors are charged with murder”.
All eight denied the charges.
The court ordered the girls to remain at the Kabete Juvenile Remand Home until 22 September, when the case will return to court.
Kavedza also directed that the minors receive counselling and psychosocial support while in custody.
The court further barred the girls from accessing social media during the proceedings and imposed strict reporting restrictions to protect their identities.
While accredited journalists will be permitted to cover the hearings, the court said no report should directly or indirectly identify any of the children.
“Accredited media representatives may attend and report from all proceedings conducted in open court. Such reporting shall be fair, accurate, and confined to the proceedings, the court rulings, procedural developments, and matters of legitimate public interest,” the court said.
“No report, publication, or broadcast shall directly or indirectly identify any subject minor.”
Investigators allege the fire was deliberately started inside a dormitory, although details surrounding the incident remain the subject of ongoing court proceedings.
The tragedy has reignited debate over safety standards in Kenyan boarding schools and recurring incidents of student unrest.
School fires have periodically occurred across Kenya, with previous investigations and studies linking some incidents to student protests over disciplinary measures and living conditions.
In September 2024, a fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County killed 21 children. The country's worst recent school fire occurred in 2001, when 67 boys died at Kyanguli Secondary School outside Nairobi in a blaze authorities attributed to arson.
The Utumishi Girls Academy fire also came amid broader concerns about unrest in Kenya's education system.
Education Minister Julius Ogamba said in May that disturbances linked to the incident had contributed to the temporary closure of at least 204 secondary schools across the country.
Most of those schools, including Utumishi Girls Academy, have since resumed classes.
The case is expected to remain closely watched as authorities seek accountability for one of the country's deadliest school tragedies in recent years, while questions continue over safety and welfare in Kenyan boarding schools.
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