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Bodies of 16 students who perished in Utumishi Girls’ Academy dormitory fire moved to Naivasha mortuary
29th May, 2026 01:47 PM
All 16 bodies recovered from the Utumishi Girls Academy dormitory fire in Gilgil, Nakuru County, have been transferred to Naivasha Sub-County Referral Hospital Mortuary pending post-mortem examinations and DNA analysis.
Government pathologist Titus Ngulungu confirmed the transfer after teams spent much of the day at the scene with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and other government agencies, documenting the building and combing through the burnt debris of all sections of the dormitory.
Ngulungu said most of the bodies were severely burnt, making visual identification difficult.
“The bodies, most of them are completely charred; they are completely consumed by the products of combustion, and they might be difficult to identify, so that is the reason why we are performing the DNA so that they can be identified when we compare with the relatives,” he said.
Only seven victims have been identified so far
Officials have confirmed that only seven of the 16 victims have so far been positively identified, with the remaining nine to be identified through a DNA matching process expected to involve family members.
The government announced it will support the DNA identification exercise at Naivasha General Hospital to help families positively identify their loved ones.
How the fire unfolded
The fire broke out in the early hours of Thursday at Meline Waithera Block, a dormitory housing 220 students drawn from Grade 10, Form 3, and Form 4. School principal Joycelene Muraguri reported the incident to the police at around 4.30 am.
Witnesses told detectives the fire started at the main entrance of the dormitory block and spread rapidly. Students who attempted to flee through the emergency exit were unable to do so as the door was locked, and the 16 students who died were found at that emergency exit.
A total of 132 students were affected by the incident, with 74 hospitalised with injuries of varying severity. Seven of the most critically injured were airlifted to Nairobi for further treatment.
The school has been closed indefinitely as investigations continue, with parents of uninjured students asked to collect their children from the premises.
