DCI identifies six students linked to Utumishi Girls dorm fire

Surveillance footage recovered from the school established the involvement of seven students in the suspected arson attack.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has confirmed that six students have been positively identified through CCTV footage as suspects in the deadly dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Senior Secondary School that claimed 16 lives.

According to investigators, forensic analysis of surveillance footage recovered from the school established the involvement of seven students in the suspected arson attack.

DCI said six of the students were among eight suspects previously arrested and have since been linked to the incident through the footage.

"“After conducting a thorough, detailed forensic analysis of the CCTV footage recovered from the school coupled with enhanced review at the Forensic Imaging and Acoustic Laboratory at DCI National Police Service Forensics Laboratory, a positive identification of the students who lit the fire has been realised,” the statement read in part.

Detectives are now pursuing a seventh suspect who had earlier been released to her parents and is currently not in custody.

The footage was examined at the DCI National Police Service Forensics Laboratory's Forensic Imaging and Acoustic Laboratory in collaboration with teachers from the institution.

The tragic fire broke out on May 28, 2026, at the school's Meline Waithera Dormitory, killing 16 students and leaving 79 others injured.

Meanwhile, post-mortem examinations conducted at Naivasha Sub-County Referral Hospital Mortuary confirmed that all the victims died from severe burn injuries.

The examinations were led by pathologist Dr. Dorothy Njeri.

Authorities also collected DNA reference samples from relatives of the deceased to facilitate formal identification of the victims, whose bodies were extensively damaged by the fire.

At the same time, DCI has appealed to members of the public with any information that could assist investigations to come forward, reiterating its commitment to conducting a thorough and impartial inquiry and ensuring justice for the victims and their families.