Utumishi Girls sued as two bodies seek to block re-opening of dormitory

Utumishi Girls reopens as Form Four students resume classes after deadly dormitory fire. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Elimu Bora Working Group have gone to court seeking to stop the reopening of the dormitory in Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, where 16 students died in an arson attack.

Under a certificate of urgency, the two organisations have filed a constitutional petition seeking conservatory orders, in particular, to stop the school from reopening Meline Waithera dormitory where the deaths occurred.

They have named the Attorney General, Education CS, National Education Board, Nakuru County Education Director, Utumishi School Board of Management, Principal of the school, Education Standards and Quality Assurance Council as respondents in the case.

Last week, the school reopened its doors after a month-long closure following the dormitory fire that claimed 16 lives and left scores of others nursing physical and psychological injuries.

Since then, eight girls who were arrested after the 28th May incident have been arraigned at the High Court and charged with 16 counts of murder.

According to the petition, the death of young learners in dormitory fires had nearly become the country’s norm.

The two institutions want past failures by government institutions, individuals and duty bearers addressed and all the safety recommendations addressed before the dormitory is reopened.

This is despite the existence of constitutional and legal safeguards to which the duty bearers of their implementation have long paid lip service, according to the petitioners.

“The repetition of this pattern of preventable dormitory fires is not coincidence but the predictable consequence of chronic, willful dereliction by multiple duty bearers.”

“At the institutional, county, and national levels, the duty bearers have repeatedly failed to implement legally mandated safety standards, heeded no warnings from prior tragedies, and not acted upon audits and task force recommendations in their possession,” reads the application in part.

KHRC and Elimu Bora noted that on September 5, 2024, the nation was faced with a similar situation when the lives of 21 young boys were cut short in a fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy that engulfed the boys’ dormitory.

“The loss of young lives due to the systematic failures of various duty bearers in the exercise and discharge of their respective duties is unconscionable and goes to the core of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights and freedoms,” says the petition.

The petitioners further noted that no parent or guardian should bury their young children in the circumstances of the present matter; and that no progressive democratic nation should lose its young generation in such circumstances.

“The turning of basic education boarding schools into virtual death traps is a live issue of national concern,” said the petitioners.

Justice Cecelia Githua certified the application as urgent and directed that all respondents be served within seven days.

“Given the nature of the orders sought, I find it inappropriate to grant any interim reliefs ex parte and direct that the Petition and the Notice of Motion be served on all the respondents forthwith,” she said.

Following the petition, the school management termed the move as worrying as form four candidates started their preparations for the national exams.

In a message to the parents, the management called for enjoined in the suit as an interested party to support the reopening of the school and the continuation of the children's education.

“As parents and guardians, we all understand the importance of ensuring that learning resumes without further interruption, especially for candidates and others who need to continue with their academic programmes,” read the message in part.