NAIROBI, Kenya — 9 college students accused of planning and executing an arson assault that killed 16 ladies at a faculty in central Kenya appeared in court docket Tuesday.
Investigators requested for extra time to probe the lethal hearth. The Excessive Courtroom within the city of Naivasha, 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of the capital, Nairobi, stated it would situation a ruling on Wednesday on whether or not the women could possibly be detained for a month pending investigations.
The fireplace on Might 28 ripped by way of the Utumishi Ladies Faculty dormitory that homes 202 college students. The college matron didn’t open an emergency door, forcing all college students to scamper by way of a single door, in line with investigators.
The accused ladies have been in police custody for 5 days, throughout which interrogations revealed the fireplace was began by lighting a mattress on the dormitory’s exit utilizing a matchstick and paraffin. No motive has been revealed to date.
The outcomes of DNA assessments to find out the identities of a few of the our bodies that had been charred past recognition are anticipated on Wednesday.
CCTV footage obtained from the razed dormitory confirmed six college students beginning the fireplace moments earlier than college students awoke, dashing to flee the blaze that left 79 wounded.
Because the incident, 5 extra faculty hearth incidents have occurred in several components of the nation, and the Kenya Crimson Cross has responded to 37 faculty fires for the reason that starting of the 12 months. No different faculty hearth has resulted in casualties.
Faculty fires are frequent in Kenya, the place lecture rooms and dormitories are sometimes crowded and firefighting tools is never inside attain. The deadliest occurred in 2001, when 67 college students died in Machakos County, and the latest deadly incident was in 2024, when 21 kids died in Nyeri County.
There have additionally been instances of scholars burning down colleges due to disciplinary points.
