DCI detectives have taken eight girls from Utumishi Girls Academy into custody following yesterday’s inferno that killed 16 students and left others injured.
In a statement, DCI said the eight were arrested following extensive interviews with students and teaching staff linking them to the arson attack.
“We have conducted extensive interviews with students, teaching staff and other witnesses and reviewed available CCTV cameras. Preliminary investigation have identified eight students as persons of interest in connection with the planning and execution of the suspected arson attack,” said the DCI.
A multi-agency team comprising Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs), Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CR&IB), officers from the Forensic Imaging and Acoustics Unit, and Forensic DNA experts have camped in the school to establish the exact cause and sequence of events.
According to the DCI, all the 16 bodies have been recovered and moved to Naivasha Sub-County Referral Hospital Mortuary pending post-mortem examination and formal identification.
The government assured that anyone found culpable for the tragic Utumishi Academy dormitory fire would be brought to justice.
Speaking when he visited the injured students in hospital, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen appealed for calm as investigator work to establish the cause of fire.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that if anyone was involved in this fire, justice will be served, so that the lives lost and the injuries suffered by your colleagues will not have been in vain,” CS Murkomen said.
Utumishi Academy has a total population of 815 students, the CS said that at the time of the incident 808 girls were present in school with seven being away due to various reasons.
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of children across the country.
