By George Ndeto,

Ten schools have officially recorded fire outbreaks across Kenya this year, resulting in a national total of 16 student fatalities and massive infrastructure destruction.
Official state records confirm that nine of these incidents caused strictly property damage with zero casualties, while a single catastrophic overnight inferno accounts for all 16 deaths.
The fatal crisis occurred at Utumishi Girls’ Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, where an overnight dormitory fire today tragically killed 16 female students and left 79 others injured .
Beyond this fatal disaster, property fires without any casualties have hit Meru National School, where four dormitory blocks were completely destroyed, and Friends School Kamusinga in Bungoma, which suffered heavy student property loss.
Similar non-fatal outbreaks forced the closure of Highway High School in Nairobi and caused structural damage at St. Barbara Kanga’aru Secondary School in Kirinyaga County.
The remaining five incidents occurred during a localized cluster of unrest in Taita Taveta County, causing infrastructure damage at Dr. Aggrey High School, St. Mary’s Lushangonyi, Mahoo Girls High School, Mwasere Girls Secondary School, and Kenyatta High School Mwatate.
Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba has taken a highly aggressive, zero-tolerance approach to this safety crisis, ordering the immediate closure of Utumishi Girls’ Academy to allow homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to process the scene .
Speaking at the scene, CS Ogamba emphasized that accountability will be swift, stating: “We have a school safety manual that all institutions must follow. Let us await investigations to determine if it was adhered to here. We will continue conducting strict audits to ensure total compliance with safety guidelines.”
The Ministry of Education has further revealed that it is launching immediate, fresh, door-to-door safety audits across all remaining boarding institutions nationwide.
CS Ogamba has warned that the government will aggressively enforce the specifications outlined in the National School Safety Manual, stating that any school heads found guilty of structural negligence will face swift criminal prosecution.