By Bonface Mulyungi
Fresh details have emerged from CCTV footage captured before the devastating fire that tore through a dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, killing 16 students and injuring dozens more.
The footage is now at the centre of investigations into one of Kenya’s worst school tragedies in recent years, with detectives piecing together events leading up to the inferno that struck in the early hours of Thursday morning.
According to investigators, the events unfolded at around 12:10 a.m. when five students quietly walked into the dormitory while most occupants were asleep and unaware of the danger that was about to unfold.
The footage shows the group making its way to Cube 11, where they briefly stopped before proceeding further into the dormitory. Detectives noted that throughout the movement, the students did not appear to exchange any words.
One of the students is seen attempting to conceal her face from the surveillance cameras while carrying a slipper, which investigators believe may have been intended to help muffle footsteps as they moved through the dormitory.
Moments later, three of the students are seen quickly moving toward the dormitory entrance, leaving two others behind.
It is these two students, investigators say, who allegedly ignited the first fire.
The CCTV footage reportedly captures the pair striking a matchbox before calmly walking away toward the exit.
But the first blaze was only the beginning.
Investigators say the students then moved toward another section of the dormitory where mattresses were stored and started a second fire. This time, the flames spread more rapidly.
After confirming that the fires had taken hold, the suspects are seen leaving the dormitory without raising an alarm, according to investigators.
Within minutes, smoke and flames began spreading through the building.
By 12:13 a.m., panic had erupted inside the dormitory as students woke up to thick smoke and growing flames. Some are seen attempting to understand what was happening while others scrambled to find a way out.
The situation deteriorated rapidly.
Investigators say that within five minutes, the fire had engulfed large sections of the dormitory, turning the sleeping quarters into a death trap as terrified students desperately searched for an escape route.
Preliminary findings indicate the blaze was deliberately started near the dormitory’s main entrance, the primary evacuation point for students.
Detectives further allege that kerosene had been smeared around the entrance area, causing the flames to spread quickly and effectively cutting off the main escape route.
As the inferno intensified, many students found themselves trapped inside.
The fire claimed the lives of 16 students, while 79 others sustained injuries as they attempted to escape the burning building.
Investigators say 10 of the victims were found near the entrance, where the fire is believed to have started, while six others died deeper inside the dormitory.
The tragedy triggered swift police action, with eight students arrested in connection with the fire.
The DCI said a major breakthrough was achieved following the detailed forensic analysis of the CCTV footage.
According to the agency, investigators conducted an enhanced review of the footage at the Forensic Imaging and Acoustic Laboratory within the National Police Service Forensics Laboratory, leading to the identification of the students involved in the arson incident.
“After conducting a thorough, detailed forensic analysis of the CCTV footage recovered from the school, coupled with enhanced review at the Forensic Imaging and Acoustic Laboratory at DCI National Police Service Forensics Laboratory, a positive identification of the students who lit the fire has been realised,” the statement said.
The DCI revealed that analysis conducted in collaboration with teachers enabled investigators to confirm the identities of students who participated in the arson before fleeing the scene.
The incident has shocked the nation and reignited concerns over safety in boarding schools.
In response, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has directed all schools across the country to install CCTV cameras to monitor student movement and strengthen security measures.
Speaking during a thanksgiving ceremony at Kipsigis Girls High School on May 31, Murkomen said surveillance footage had played a crucial role in unravelling what happened at Utumishi Girls and suggested that earlier access to the footage could potentially have aided rescue efforts.
Murkomen said he was shaken by what he saw, adding that the actions of the students involved were difficult to comprehend.
“I was reviewing the CCTV footage of Utumishi Academy, and I felt very sad. I even struggled to sleep because we could see the kids who were coming to light the fire,” he said.
The Interior CS noted that the students involved appeared to be bright and promising but lamented that they had allegedly engaged in an act that destroyed the dormitory while their colleagues were inside.
“Very brilliant kids. Some who have got the best because that’s a national school. But for them to just get paraffin and a matchbox and burn a dormitory, really consciously seeing their colleagues sleeping there and walk out and leave them to die, that is something,” Murkomen said.
He described the incident as deeply disturbing and urged students to reflect on the broader implications of their actions, warning against overemphasis on academic performance at the expense of discipline and moral grounding.
Murkomen called on learners across the country to prioritise character development alongside academic excellence, saying education must go beyond examinations.
“That is the most demonic thing I saw myself and I have seen. As children and as students, as teenagers, you need to know that it is not enough to be brilliant. It is important to have the right character, the right attitude of learning, and the necessary skills that you need to navigate life,” he said
