A fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Kenya killed 16 students and injured 79 others on May 28, 2026. The blaze broke out around 01:00 local time in a dormitory housing about 220 students, completely destroying the building before response teams extinguished it by 03:00. The cause remains under investigation. The tragedy marks the latest in a series of deadly school fires in Kenya.
Utumishi Girls Academy fire
- ▪Utumishi Girls Academy is located in Gilgil, about 120km north-west of Nairobi, Kenya
- ▪Response teams at Utumishi Girls Academy managed to put out the fire by about 03:00 on May 28, 2026
- ▪A fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Kenya started in the early hours of May 28, 2026 as students were asleep
- ▪The fire at Utumishi Girls Academy engulfed a dormitory block housing about 220 students
- ▪More than 800 children were in Utumishi Girls Academy at the time of the fire on May 28, 2026
- ▪The fire at Utumishi Girls Academy broke out around 01:00 local time on May 28, 2026
Student casualties
- ▪71 students injured in the Utumishi Girls Academy fire were discharged from hospital
- ▪Dozens of students at Utumishi Girls Academy were injured and taken to hospital following the fire on May 28, 2026
- ▪Sixteen students were killed in the fire at Utumishi Girls Academy on May 28, 2026
Parent reactions at scene
- ▪Anxious parents and relatives gathered at Utumishi Girls Academy waiting for news of their loved ones following the fire on May 28, 2026
- ▪Leah Serem travelled from Nakuru, about 40km away, to Utumishi Girls Academy alongside other parents following the fire
Official investigation underway
- ▪Utumishi Girls Academy would begin releasing students to their parents and guardians throughout May 28, 2026 as authorities continue investigations
- ▪The cause of the fire at Utumishi Girls Academy had not been established as of May 28, 2026
- ▪Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen was among the officials gathered at Utumishi Girls Academy following the fire on May 28, 2026
- ▪Education Minister Julius Ogamba visited the scene of the Utumishi Girls Academy fire on May 28, 2026
- ▪Investigations into the cause of the Utumishi Girls Academy fire were ongoing as of May 28, 2026
Historical school fire incidents
- ▪67 students died in a school fire in Machakos county, Kenya in 2001 after some students set fire to a dormitory
- ▪At least 21 people died in a dormitory fire in central Kenya in 2024
Safety compliance failures
- ▪The Kenyan ministry of education closed 348 schools with immediate effect following a 2024 safety compliance review
- ▪A 2024 Kenyan ministry of education assessment found that most schools had dormitories with grills on the windows, single exits and doors that opened inwards, compromising safety of the occupants
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