NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya have arrested eight female students on suspicion of arson, authorities said Friday, after a fire destroyed a dormitory at a boarding school, killing 16 children and injuring dozens of others. The motive is still unknown.Police held 30 students overnight for questioning. Authorities said school administrators would face disciplinary action for safety violations after an exit door was found to be locked during the panicked rush to escape the building. At least 79 people were injured.Education Minister Julius Ogamba said two teachers were aware that students were planning something but failed to take appropriate action, without elaborating.A full day after the blaze, some parents said they had still not been told whether their children were under arrest or just being questioned.“We have not even been told about the eight that police have arrested,” a parent, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear that her daughter could be victimised, told The Associated Press. “We are just here and no one is giving us any information.”Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.
Eight students suspected of arson after deadly fire at girls school in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Police in Kenya have arrested eight female students on suspicion of arson, authorities said Friday, after a fire destroyed a dormitory at a boarding school, killing 16 children and injuring dozens of others. The motive is still unknown.Police held 30 students overnight for questioning. Authorities said school administrators would face disciplinary action for safety violations after an exit door was found to be locked during the panicked rush to escape the building.
Eight students detained for arson suspicion after a fire killed 16 and injured 79 at a Kenyan boarding school; an exit door was locked during evacuation. Unreported threat, locked exits, opaque crisis comms: a textbook institutional safety governance failure.
