May 28, 2026
Parents and guardians walk outside the Utumishi Girls Academy following the deadly fire in Gilgil, north of the capital Nairobi on May 28, 2026. Photo by SIMON MAINA / AFP
A fire in a girls’ dormitory in Kenya on Thursday killed 16 children and hospitalised 79 in the latest deadly blaze to hit a school in the east African country.
The fire broke out shortly before 1:00 am local time at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, around 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of the capital Nairobi, officials said.
There have been many devastating school fires in Kenya, where boarding schools are common as a colonial legacy of missionaries and the British.
