The Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) has called for the immediate censure of Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba and the resignation of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen following the deadly fire tragedy at Utumishi Girls’ Academy that claimed the lives of 16 students.

Speaking on Thursday, May 28, 2026, while reading the party’s official statement, DCP Acting Secretary General and Nyandarua Senator Joe Methu accused the government of negligence, incompetence and failure in disaster preparedness and response.

Methu said the country has witnessed repeated school tragedies over the years without meaningful reforms being implemented to protect learners in boarding institutions.

“We have lost too many students for a long time, ranging from St Kizito in the 1990s, Janguri Boys, Hillside International Academy and countless others,” Methu said.

The senator criticised the government’s handling of the Utumishi Girls’ Academy fire, arguing that senior officials failed to respond swiftly despite receiving early alerts about the disaster.

“We are adequately aware that the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, Kipchumba Murkomen, was informed of the fire tragedy at 2 am last night, but he could not marshal government machinery and drive a distance of one and a half hours,” Methu stated.

According to the DCP, Murkomen should take personal responsibility for the deaths of the students because of what the party termed a delayed and ineffective emergency response.

“The Cabinet Secretary is too big that he could not even drive. He chose to only fly and was waiting for the weather to clear up this morning,” Methu said.

National disaster unit failing Kenyans?

The opposition party further accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of weakening national disaster response structures by transferring critical emergency functions from institutions to individuals.

“The function of disaster response is treated as adaptable by this administration and moved to the incompetent Cabinet Secretary for Interior, Kipchumba Murkomen,” Methu added.

The DCP questioned the whereabouts and effectiveness of the National Disaster Response Committee that was established in 2023 under the Office of the Deputy President.

“The question that we ask is: where is the National Disaster Response Committee, including all the key stakeholders that were appointed in the year 2023 and put under the office of the Deputy President?” he posed.

Additionally, the party also faulted Education CS Julius Ogamba for failing to personally visit the scene immediately after the tragedy.

“What was so hard for the Cabinet Secretary of Education to move to Nakuru, as compared to going to Safari Park Hotel, when our girls have died in numbers?” Methu asked.

The DCP argued that if the government had invested the same energy in disaster management as it does in political mobilisation, lives could have been saved.

“Give the same effort and energy used to recruit, deploy and maintain political goons by Kipchumba Murkomen and William Ruto, and the Disaster Management Bill would have been applied, mitigation measures would have been implemented, and lives would have been saved,” he claimed.

The party further raised concerns over the safety of schools across the country, warning that the Utumishi Girls’ Academy tragedy had exposed glaring weaknesses in emergency preparedness within learning institutions.

“How safe are our schools? If Utumishi Academy could lose 16 girls, yet we have security agencies at a stone’s throw, how safe are our kids in other parts of the country?” Methu questioned.

The senator also referenced previous unresolved tragedies, including the Hillside Endarasha Academy fire incident in 2024 that killed 21 pupils.

“Since the fire tragedy in Hillside International in 2024, we have never been told how 21 babies died. What country is this that we are living in?” he said.

The DCP now wants Parliament to immediately begin censure proceedings against Education CS Julius Ogamba, while demanding that Murkomen resign over what the party termed failures in leadership and disaster response.

“We call for the immediate censure of the Cabinet Secretary for Education and the resignation of the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, Kipchumba Murkomen, for the deaths of our children at Utumishi Academy,” Methu declared.

The tragic fire at Utumishi Girls’ Academy has sparked national outrage and renewed debate over safety standards in Kenyan boarding schools, with pressure mounting on the government to implement stronger disaster preparedness and response mechanisms.