CCTV footage showing suspected students setting a dormitory on fire at Utumishi Girls Senior Secondary School has sparked widespread reaction across the country.
In footage seen by TNX Africa, students are seen moving around the dormitory while others sleep.
They appear to gather near a section labelled ‘Cube 11’ before briefly moving out of camera view.
They later return, with some rushing ahead while two remain behind. The two are seen lighting what appears to be a match before joining the others. Moments later, a fire breaks out near the entrance of the dormitory as the group leaves the area.
The video then shows students scrambling to escape as smoke quickly fills the room, with panic spreading as the blaze intensifies.
The fire left 16 students dead and several others injured.
— The Nairobi Times (@TheNairobiTimez) June 1, 2026
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has since said six students have been arrested in connection with the incident, while one remains at large following a forensic review of surveillance footage.
“After conducting a thorough 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 realized,” the agency said on X.
DCI added that the seventh suspect had earlier been released to parents and is now being sought. “Efforts are now underway to trace and arrest her,” it said.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen described the incident as “demonic”, saying the act reflected both intent and awareness despite the suspects’ age.
“You could see the children who were coming to light the fire, they are very brilliant because this is a national school. But for them to just get paraffin and a matchbox and burn the dormitory consciously leaving their colleagues asleep inside is the most demonic thing I have ever seen,” he said. “As teenagers, it’s not enough to be brilliant, you have to have the right character.”
On social media, Kenyans raised concerns over school safety, emergency preparedness, and access to flammable materials within the institution.
Others questioned the presence of CCTV cameras inside dormitories, citing privacy concerns, while also probing possible gaps in supervision and security response at the time of the incident.