One of the four students discharged from Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) following the tragic fire at Utumishi Girls Academy has revealed that the students accused of setting the dormitory ablaze allegedly had an ongoing dispute with school administrators.
The Grade 10 student, whom we will refer to as Gladys to protect her identity, spoke from her home in Njoro, Nakuru, after being discharged from hospital on Thursday.
Gladys is among the survivors of the devastating fire that broke out on the night of May 27, claiming lives and leaving several students injured.
Also Read
Although grateful to be alive, Gladys is still unable to walk after sustaining fractures on both legs while escaping the inferno.
“Nalala kwa dirisha nikapita hapo… niliruka kutoka first floor. Wengine waliumia mgongo, wengine stairs… mimi miguu tu. Nikabebwa nikapelekwa St. Joseph,” she recalled.
According to Gladys, the students behind the fire allegedly wanted to avoid a disciplinary meeting with the school principal that had been scheduled for the following day.
“Kama Grade 10 tulikuwa twende retreat Sunday… tukasikia wale waliwasha moto walikuwa na shida na principal,” she said.
The tragedy left Gladys mourning the loss of two close friends. Her mother says the incident has deeply affected her daughter emotionally and psychologically, leaving her in need of counseling.
“Tulifika 5:30… alisema hawezi lala kwa bedroom… anahitaji counselling. Mi sioni madhara ya CCTV kwa sababu ata hiyo CCTV haifiki kwa vitanda za watoto,” said the parent, supporting the school’s proposal to install CCTV cameras in dormitories.
Meanwhile, another family continues to grapple with a different tragedy linked to the events of that night.
In Mogoon, Nakuru West, the family of Faith Koskei is mourning her death following a road accident that occurred along the Nakuru-Nairobi Highway at the Diatomite area on May 27.
Faith and her husband, Emmanuel, were rushing to Utumishi Girls Academy after receiving a distress call from their daughter, a Form Four student at the school.
The student, who escaped the fire unharmed after being accommodated in a different dormitory, recalled desperately waiting for her parents to arrive.
“Nilipigia my parents nikawaambia nimeumia wanikujie… nilitoka kwa dorm 2:30… hawakukuja, my uncles walikuja. Nilikuwa nimekasirika wakuje. It is their norm wafike in an hour,” she said.
The student says the tragic chain of events not only robbed her of friends but also cost her mother her life.
“I lost my friends… nitawamiss. For the girls tupate tu justice. Sielewi mbona wako na hizo siku. We want justice,” she said.
As the family prepares to bury Faith, her husband Emmanuel remains admitted to a private hospital in Nakuru. Although he survived the crash, he requires multiple surgeries estimated to cost more than KSh 3 million.
“The surgeries are expensive. He is supposed awekwe chuma. Tunarequest financial support. Ilitupata kwa ghafla, ni kitu haikupangwa,” said Amos Koskei, Emmanuel’s brother.
Family members disclosed that informing Emmanuel about his wife’s death was one of the most difficult moments they have faced since the accident.
As investigations into the Utumishi Girls Academy dormitory fire continue, survivors and affected families are calling for accountability and justice for the lives lost and the many others forever changed by the tragedy.