Five girls arrested over dormitory inferno

Police have arrested five girls in connection with a mysterious dormitory fire at Mazeras Memorial Girls Secondary School in Kinango sub-county, Kwale.

Kinango police boss James Mutungi said the girls are helping police with investigation and will be charged with arson if found culpable. The girls were picked up yesterday afternoon as education officials, teachers and parents held a crisis meeting at the school.

On Sunday, a fierce fire swept through a dormitory at the school, 15 years after a similar incident left 25 girls dead.

In March this year, the European Union completed dormitory worth Sh5.4 million to accommodate 80 students.

Tension is high after the surprise Sunday night incident in the institution that was formerly known as Bombolulu Girls Secondary before the March 1998 fire. No casualties were reported in the latest incident, according to education officials in Kinango sub-county.