Court detains nine students over deadly Utumishi Girls dorm fire

Nine students linked to the Utumishi Girls Academy dormitory fire that claimed the lives of 16 learners appear before Chief Magistrate Ramadhan Abdulqadir at the Naivasha Law Courts, on June 3, 2026. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Nine students accused of causing a fire that left 16 girls dead at the Utumishi Girls Senior School in Gilgil, Nakuru County, will spend another 21 days in custody.

Naivasha Chief Magistrate Abdulqadir Ramathan ordered the minors, aged between 15 and 17 years, to be remanded at Nakuru Children’s Remand Home until June 24 to give the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) ample time to conclude investigations.

This follows a successful application by the prosecution which had sought 30 days to hold the minors as investigations into cases were still pending.

Parents of the minors and those who lost daughters followed the proceedings keenly amid heightened security.

The magistrate said the prosecution had adduced compelling reasons to hold the minors in custody for more days.

He noted that though the accused were entitled to their rights through the Children Act, the victims who included the parents and those injured required justice.

He termed the ruling as one of the hardest to balance as both the accused minors and the victims had constitutional rights to bond and fairness, respectively. “A parent took her child to school seeking the best for her only to receive a call that there was a misfortune in the school and she should rush there. For some, they were lucky to unite with their daughters, others were referred to the hospital while 16 families will never see their daughters again.”

He further noted that the badly burnt bodies were yet to be buried as parents waited for DNA results, adding that releasing the accused would cause more agony for the victim’s families.

“Though the accused are entitled to bond or cash bail, the offence that they allegedly committed is a serious one (arson leading to deaths),” he said.

Abdulqadir said the incident had drawn public outrage and releasing the accused persons would expose them to danger, adding that if released, it could also erode the trust of some of the students who had been lined up as potential witnesses.

Earlier, the State Counsel Emma Bosire said the investigating officers had gathered evidence which incriminated the nine and placed them at the scene of the incident.

While calling for 30 days to hold them, Bosire said the DCI was waiting for critical technical, forensic and structural reports from various State agencies and this required time to process

However, Bernard Kipkoech (advocate for the accused) opposed the application, terming this as detention without pre-trial and against the Children Act.

He said the prosecution had not given compelling reason that the minors were a flight risk or would interfere with investigations.

The case will be mentioned on June 24.