Alliance High closes indefinitely as 11 students held over planned strike

Remains of the store that was burned after a fire at the Alliance High School. [Juliet Omelo, Standard]

Alliance High School has been closed indefinitely after a fire destroyed approximately 200 mattresses in a store on Thursday morning, with police detaining 11 students for questioning over a planned strike linked to the incident.

According to a police report filed at Kikuyu Police Station, Occurrence Book reference OB 06/04/06/2026, the fire was reported at around 3 a.m. by Principal David Chomba.

Officers led by the sub-county criminal investigations officer, the Administration Police Service commander and the Station Police commander responded to the scene.

Firefighters from Kiambu County arrived and extinguished the blaze. Scene of Crime personnel from Kiambu processed the scene. No casualties were reported.

The police report states that preliminary investigations revealed 11 students had earlier mentioned a planned strike.

The students were escorted to  Kikuyu Police Station for interrogation.

Remains of the store that was burned after a fire at the Alliance High School. [Juliet Omelo, Standard]

Chomba, in a separate statement to parents, said no student was harmed and described the fire as involving "a small section of mattresses" in one of the older dormitories.

"No student was harmed, and students are continuing with their normal learning activities," said Chomba.

Parents have been asked to collect their children and have been invited to a meeting to discuss student welfare and the school's safety plan.

The Alliance fire comes as Kenya grapples with a widening wave of school unrest.

The Kenya Red Cross has responded to 37 school fire incidents since the start of 2026, with the latest recorded at Tarakwa High School in Bomet County on June 1,  the fifth school fire since the Utumishi tragedy.

Among the schools affected in the second term of 2026 are Loreto High School Limuru, Lenana School, Naivasha Girls High School, St Joseph's Seminary Senior School in Molo and Tarakwa High School, with unrest largely attributed to complaints over food, poor living conditions and academic pressure.

Remains of the store that was burned after a fire at the Alliance High School. [Juliet Omelo, Standard]

In Makueni County alone, five schools have been closed indefinitely, with students at Kavuthu, Kyamuthei, Nguumo and Kalama secondary schools torching dormitories, while Kaumoni Boys High School suffered extensive damage after students set fire to the administration block and classrooms.

The crisis was set off most acutely by the May 28 fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, which killed 16 students and injured 79 others.

A court in Naivasha on Wednesday granted detectives 21 days to hold nine students suspected of planning and executing the arson attack, with the girls remanded at a children's home as investigators determine whether to bring charges.

The suspects confessed their triggers included protesting a change in the school's examination calendar, being forced to pay for a cultural event and peer pressure following a strike at a neighbouring boys' school.

The Architectural Association of Kenya has since proposed comprehensive guidelines to improve dormitory design and safety, stating that no dormitory should be occupied unless every child can evacuate without a key during an emergency.

The government also ordered a nationwide audit of boarding schools.