Karua’s party cites systemic negligence after Utumishi Girls’ Academy fire that killed 16 students
By Emmanuel Rono, May 29, 2026The People’s Liberation Party (PLP) has condemned what it terms systemic negligence following the deadly fire at Utumishi Girls’ Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, which left 16 students dead.
In a press statement on Friday, May 29, 2026, the party extended condolences to affected families while sharply criticising what it described as repeated failures in enforcing safety standards in boarding schools.
“This tragedy is not merely an accident; it is a national failure born out of systemic negligence, weak enforcement of safety standards, and a government culture that reacts only after lives have been lost,” the statement read.
The PLP linked the incident to earlier school fire tragedies, arguing that promised reforms after past incidents, including the Hillside Endarasha tragedy, had not been implemented effectively.
Lapses in safety oversight
The party leader, Martha Karua, warned that continued lapses in safety oversight were putting learners at risk across the country.
“Nearly two years after the Hillside Endarasha tragedy, Kenyans were promised reforms and stricter oversight of boarding school safety. Those promises have clearly not been honoured,” Karua stated.
The party is calling for the government to fully cover medical expenses for the injured students and provide long-term psychological counselling for survivors and affected families.
It also insists that officials responsible for oversight failures must be held personally accountable.
“Accountability cannot end with press conferences and condolences. Public officials responsible for oversight failures within the Ministry of Education and relevant state agencies must be held personally accountable. Leadership without responsibility is unacceptable,” Karua noted.
The fire incident
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has assured Kenyans that a comprehensive investigation will be conducted into the tragic fire incident at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, which has left the nation in mourning, with the deaths of 16 students and scores of others injured.
Murkomen confirmed that emergency response and investigative agencies have already been deployed to the scene, led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), crime scene investigators, and officers from the Government Chemist.
8 arrested
Eight students have been arrested in connection with the deadly dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls’ Academy as detectives intensify investigations into one of the country’s worst school fire tragedies in recent years.
In a statement shared on the DCI Facebook account on Friday, May 29, 2026, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said preliminary investigations had identified eight students as persons of interest linked to the planning and execution of the suspected arson attack.
“Investigators have conducted extensive interviews with students, teaching staff and other witnesses, while forensic teams carry out a detailed review of available CCTV footage,” the DCI stated.
“Detectives continue to record statements and analyse all available evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events, establish the full circumstances of the incident, and determine the motive,” the statement added.