Former nominated senator Gloria Orwoba has taken issue with the education Cabinet Secretary, Migosi Ogamba’s appearance at Utumishi Girls’ Academy during the fire incident, saying he appeared more like a ‘flower girl’ than a leader in control of the situation.

Speaking during an interview with a local radio station on Friday, May 29, 2026, the outspoken politician stated that instead of the Education CS taking charge of the situation since the incident fell under his jurisdiction, he left the responsibility to his Interior counterpart, Kipchumba Murkomen, who, according to Orwoba, ended up ‘running the show’.

She further argued that instead of CS Ogamba presiding over the press briefing and addressing the nation, he allowed Murkomen to appear as the main authority figure, even though the matter was within his ministry.

Orwoba also took issue with Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, criticising his decision to fly to the school by helicopter, noting that the journey could have taken about an hour by road. In her view, this was unnecessary and contributed to the optics of poor judgment during a sensitive moment.

“We saw a Cabinet Secretary of Education yesterday; he looked like a flower girl. He looked like Murkomen was the one in charge of the press conference. Murkomen from the interior was the one taking control,” Orwoba said.

To make matters worse, the Kisii Woman Representative hopeful for 2027 stated that the two officials turned a painful moment—when parents had lost their children—into what she described as a “semi-campaign event”.

She also faulted parents who were seen clapping during the leaders’ speeches, saying it reflected a troubling contradiction: grieving families who had lost children but were still being made to applaud political leaders at a moment of deep sorrow.

Methu’s demands

Several leaders from the opposition have also called for a thorough inquest into the situation. The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) secretary general designate, John Methu, on behalf of the party MPs, has called for the resignation of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.

Utumishi Girls’ Academy fire tragedy

This comes a day after the fire incident, which claimed 16 lives, with 76 students hospitalised. Of those, 61 were later discharged after their condition stabilised, while 7 were airlifted to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for specialised treatment.

Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are now investigating the cause of the incident, with more than 20 students having been interrogated regarding the cause of the fire. The bodies of the deceased students are currently being preserved at Gilgil Sub-County Hospital, awaiting postmortem and burial.