Utumishi fire tragedy : Heads must roll

More than 48 hours after the deadly inferno that claimed 16 innocent lives at Utumishi Girls Senior School, Kenyans are yet to witness decisive action from a govern

ment that has repeatedly promised to end the cycle of school tragedies.

President William Ruto has not taken immediate firm and decisive action that would send a clear message across the education sector that negligence, incompetence, and collapsed accountability systems will no longer be tolerated.

Instead, the country is once again watching a familiar knee jerk response targeting the “small fish,” with the Ministry of Education opting to dissolve the school board and calling for commencement of disciplinary action on the school administration.

Also in sharp focus is the conduct of leaders during the Thursday morning national breakfast meeting that laid bare the moral decay and mockery at the heart of the crisis.

During bis speech, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki never once paused to acknowledge the inferno or call for a moment of silence in honour of the dead.

Instead, he led the gathering into political mobilisation, pushing for chants of “two terms” drowning out the grief of devastated families.

At the Ministry of Education, the response has been equally hollow with Basic Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok on Thursday abandoning the rescue and crisis response exercise to continue his pre-planned political engagements in Baringo County.

The PS led the crowd into campaign chants even as parents searched for answers and survivors battled trauma.

Meanwhile, the education sector is bleeding, yearning for urgent decisive action and the stakeholders now want Ruto to move with speed.

Civil society organisations called for the resignation of Education CS Ogamba and PS Bitok, over the fire tragedy at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County.

Addressing a press briefing in Nairobi, the Elimu Bora Working Group blamed the inferno that claimed the lives of 16 students on negligence and failure to enforce school safety standards by the senior ministry officials.

“It has become apparent that in Kenya, people do not take responsibility, particularly our leaders,” said the CSO policy and strategy advisor, Boaz Waruku.

“This consistent loss of lives in schools, and no accountability being taken, is unacceptable.” he added.

Waruku demanded Ogamba’s resignation, warning that human rights groups would pursue political, legal, and constitutional means to force him out of office if he failed to step aside.

Kenya Union of Post Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) secretary general Akelo Misori called on action on senior government officials who slept on the job.

“We demand accountability for the loss of these precious lives,” said Misori.

“The County Education Board, quality assurance officers, the Public Health Department, the school board and management, and the local police command in charge of the school's security have serious questions to answer,” Misori said.

Silas Obuhatsa, the National Parents Association (NPA) chairman, called for action and faulted the government for not acting on findings from the fire incident in Endarasha, Nyeri County, in 2024.

“Anybody who will have slept on the job must be made to explain,” he said.

The fatal incident, now ruled an act of arson, has led to the arrest of eight learners and dissolution of school board.

However, these actions have raised concerns that authorities may be moving on swiftly, while senior officials responsible for enforcing safety standards and ensuring compliance within learning institutions remain out of the spotlight.

Questions are now emerging over whether systemic lapses, possible negligence, and failures in oversight may have contributed to the scale of the tragedy by failing to ensure effective safety measures and emergency response systems.

Even as parents mourned their daughters and demanded answers, the tragedy was treated with alarming casualness by senior political leaders.

On Friday, Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced commencement of disciplinary measures on the school principal and two teachers.

However, the actions by the Ministry failed to confront the rot that continuously endangers learners across the country.

The promises comes against a backdrop of recurring school fire tragedies and years of unimplemented recommendations.

It remains unclear when the last safety inspection was conducted, who certified the dormitories as compliant, and how a locked exit door escaped detection in a boarding school housing hundreds of learners.

The tragedy has once again exposed weak enforcement of school safety regulations and a pattern where warnings are ignored until lives are lost.

Even as the ministry promises accountability, critical questions remain unanswered.

Why were the violations not flagged earlier? Who was responsible for routine inspections? Why were warnings ignored without consequence? And how many more schools across the country are operating with the same dangerous lapses that only become visible after tragedy strikes?

In the last three incidents a common pattern has emerged in the lapse to prevent any future incidents with negligence, complacency and a leadership class that has repeatedly failed to treat school safety as a national emergency.

CS Ogamba on Friday admitted that safety gaps and ignored warnings led to the deadly Utumishi Girls fire.

The government admitted that safety failures and ignored warnings contributed to the deadly fire at Utumishi Girls Academy, even as fresh questions emerge over how such lapses were allowed to persist unchecked.

“We have established that this was not an accident. There is evidence pointing to arson, and those found culpable will face the full force of the law,” said Ogamba.

The CS said that the school was in breach of mandatory safety regulations, including a locked dormitory exit and congestion, factors that may have worsened the scale of the tragedy.

More troubling is the admission that two teachers reportedly had prior information about a planned unrest by students but failed to act.

The revelation raises serious questions about whether the tragedy could have been prevented altogether.

While the ministry now says the fire was an act of arson and that eight learners are being questioned, the heavy focus on students’ risks overshadowing the deeper institutional failures that the government itself has acknowledged.

Ogamba, while briefing the country on preliminary findings, said investigations point to arson, with eight learners already in custody as persons of interest, but admitted the tragedy exposed dangerous failures within the school’s safety systems.

He added that the Teachers Service Commission had initiated disciplinary action against the principal and teachers linked to the lapses, even as investigations widen to include ministry officials.

“We are not limiting accountability to the school alone. Any officer found to have been negligent will be held responsible,” he said.

Ogamba acknowledged that major questions remain unanswered and pledged that further details would be made public as investigations continue.

“We owe it to the families and the country to establish the full truth and ensure this does not happen again,” he said.