Recurring dorm fires reveal years of safety failures

It was bound to happen. The only question was where and when. The latest dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls, which claimed the lives of 16 students, has once again brought into focus a pattern that has persisted for nearly three decades.

For years, the second term of the school calendar has been synonymous with unrest and dormitory fires, a cycle that repeatedly catches authorities off guard and triggers the familiar response of investigations, audits and reports compiled in the aftermath of tragedy.

From Bombolulu Girls Secondary School in 1998, where 26 students died, to Kyanguli Secondary School in 2001 with 67 fatalities, Moi Girls High School in 2017, where 10 students lost their lives, and Hillside Endarasha Academy in 2024, where 21 pupils died, the incidents have followed a disturbingly similar trajectory.

Each tragedy has been followed by investigations and recommendations, yet a few years later, the fires return. Amid the continued loss of young lives and shattered dreams, a series of questions stand out: Who will stop this madness?

How many more children must perish in locked dormitories before safety guidelines are enforced? Who bears responsibility when the same warnings are issued, the same loopholes identified, yet nothing changes?

What justice is there for parents who send their children to school with hope, only to receive them back in the cold compartments of the morgue? Is it the school administrators who ignore safety standards, or the regulators who fail to enforce compliance? Why do dormitories still lack basic fire safety measures and proper emergency exits, or why are those available inaccessible?

And when tragedy strikes, who is held accountable beyond suspensions, transfers and committees whose findings gather dust on shelves? Until these questions are answered through action, the cycle is bound to persist. And the next fire, like all the others before it, will not come as a surprise but as a tragedy many saw coming, God forbid.

Investigations into past school fires have repeatedly cited overcrowded dormitories, locked exits, inadequate firefighting equipment and delayed emergency response as contributing factors. Yet similar conditions continue to be reported in schools across the country.

Education officials tasked with quality assurance and standards enforcement are once again facing questions over their role in preventing such disasters.

The Directorate of Quality Assurance and Standards, mandated to inspect institutions and ensure compliance, has, in past reports, been singled out for irregular inspections and weak follow-up on identified risks.

The Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers Secretary-General, Akello Misori, yesterday blamed the government for failing to safeguard learners, citing lapses that led to the loss of lives in the recent incident.

“The County Education Board, quality assurance officers, the Public Health Department, the school board and management, and the local police command responsible for the school’s security have serious questions to answer,” he said.

The absence of accountability following earlier tragedies has further complicated efforts to address the crisis. Despite the scale of loss in incidents such as Kyanguli and Moi Girls, there have been few successful prosecutions directly linked to negligence or failure to enforce safety standards.

This has raised concerns among stakeholders over whether systemic lapses are being sufficiently addressed or deterred.

In his statement, Mr Misori further called for action on past incidents that remain unresolved.

“We demand accountability for the loss of these precious lives,” he said. “This incident comes on the heels of fire disasters at Moi Girls High School, Nairobi, and Hillside Academy in Nyeri, where lessons were meant to be learned and government policy on school safety standards, as set out in the Safety Standards Manual for Schools in Kenya (2018), was elaborated.”

Parents and education advocates are also demanding greater transparency in safety audits and public disclosure of compliance levels in boarding schools.

The National Parents Association chairperson, Silas Obuhatsa, said the government has yet to release findings from the fire incident in Endarasha.

“The reports should be shared with the whole country and all stakeholders involved in implementation. The recurrence of fires points to a deeper institutional problem, where responsibility is diffused across multiple actors with limited individual accountability,” Obuhatsa said.

Findings from a Special Investigation Team formed after widespread school unrest in 2016 indicate that dormitories were the most common targets during arson incidents.

The report notes that while students were identified as the main actors in many cases of arson, responsibility also extended to school staff and, in some instances, outsiders.

Investigations further flagged overcrowding in dormitories as a widespread concern. Facilities designed for fewer students were often stretched beyond capacity, restricting movement and reducing the chances of safe evacuation during emergencies.

In addition to overcrowding, infrastructure deficiencies were documented across multiple schools, including inadequate sanitation, lack of running water and poorly maintained facilities. In some cases, schools were found to prioritise non-essential investments while basic safety and welfare needs remained unmet.

Emergency preparedness was also found to be insufficient. The investigation highlighted limited availability of functional firefighting equipment, a lack of regular fire drills and inadequate training for both staff and students on emergency response procedures.

Regulatory enforcement emerged as a key concern. The report states that supervision of schools was not carried out as expected and that there was widespread non-compliance with existing government policies.

These included guidelines on school management, infrastructure standards and student welfare. Weak enforcement mechanisms allowed institutions to operate without meeting the required safety thresholds.

A review of previous commissions and task forces shows gaps in the implementation of recommended measures.

Of the 168 recommendations in the Wangai Task Force report, 65 were fully implemented, while 33 were not implemented. Similarly, in the Koech Committee report, only 30 out of 122 recommendations were fully implemented, with 38 not implemented.

The findings indicate that while policy frameworks exist, execution has been inconsistent.

The reports also highlight administrative and governance challenges within the education sector.

These include coordination gaps between institutions such as the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission, which have affected oversight and accountability.

School-level management structures, including Boards of Management, were identified as critical in overseeing infrastructure and student welfare, but their effectiveness varied across institutions.

The investigation into school unrest also linked incidents of arson and destruction to underlying issues within schools.

These included poor living conditions, dissatisfaction with administration, inadequate resources and breakdowns in communication between students and management.

Students cited concerns such as food quality, lack of facilities and general welfare as contributing factors to unrest.

Security measures in boarding facilities were also flagged. In several cases, dormitories lacked adequate escape routes, while structural modifications such as grilled windows and locked doors hindered evacuation during emergencies.

Recommendations from various reports have consistently emphasised the need for improved safety standards, including decongestion of dormitories, installation of fire detection and suppression systems, regular safety audits and enhanced training in emergency response.

Policy proposals have also called for capacity building for education officers and school management, as well as the establishment of mechanisms to monitor the implementation of safety measures.

Despite these recommendations, repeated incidents suggest gaps in follow-through.

Investigations into past fires have led to arrests in some cases, but there is a limited public record of prosecutions or convictions linked to systemic failures in school safety.

Oversight responsibilities are distributed across multiple levels, including school administrations, county education offices and national authorities.

However, the recurrence of similar incidents has raised questions about the effectiveness of these structures.

The education sector continues to operate under policy frameworks developed over several years, including provisions under the Basic Education Act and related regulations.

Reports have recommended amendments to these frameworks to strengthen enforcement and accountability mechanisms.