Utumishi school fire survivor mourns mother killed in crash

In the quiet hours before dawn, while the world slept, Faith Irene Kata answered a phone call that would change everything.

On the other end was a message no parent ever wants to receive: her daughter’s school was on fire.

There was no time to think or ask questions. Faith immediately woke her husband, Emmanuel Kosgei, and together they made frantic calls to relatives. Within minutes, they were on the road from Nakuru, desperate to reach Utumishi Girls School in Gilgil, where their daughter Patience Cheptoo is a Form Four student.

“She received a call in the wee hours of Thursday informing her that the school was on fire. Like any parent, her instinct was to rush there,” recalled Faith’s brother, Boaz Katah.

Faith and Kosgei, accompanied by another couple, set off for Gilgil. But they would never reach their destination. About an hour into the journey, near Gilgil, their vehicle collided with a lorry in a devastating crash that claimed Faith’s life and left her husband with serious injuries.

“The impact was greatest on the driver’s side. My brother-in-law was driving and Faith was seated behind him. The other man was in the front passenger seat, while his wife sat directly behind him,” he added.

In a single night, tragedy struck twice, first at the school and then on the road.

Katah said the collision ripped through the vehicle with tremendous force, crushing the side where Faith and her husband were seated.  

“The impact shattered her skull and she died on the spot. They never made it to the school and everything changed from that moment,” he added.

Her husband survived the crash but sustained serious injuries, including broken ribs, fractures and internal trauma that will require multiple surgeries.

Multiple surgeries

Katah said he was first rushed to St Mary’s Hospital in Gilgil before being transferred to a hospital in Nakuru, where he remains under close medical supervision.

“He suffered broken ribs and another fracture. He underwent surgery yesterday and is scheduled for another procedure, with more surgeries likely to follow,” Katah added.

Back at the school, their daughter, Cheptoo, had survived the dormitory fire that triggered the frantic journey. Tragically, 16 girls lost their lives while at least seven sustained injuries of varying severity.

When Cheptoo received the news of her mother’s death, she was overwhelmed with grief. The relief of having escaped the deadly fire was almost instantly replaced by the devastating loss of her mother. 

In her anguish, she blamed the students suspected of causing the fire. 

At one point, she became inconsolable, causing a scene as she demanded to be allowed into the administration office, where the students suspected of starting the fire had been confined on Thursday.

“I want those girls who killed my mum. My mum has died because of them,” she cried outside the school’s administration block, where the suspected students were being held.

“My mother has died. She didn’t even live to see me score an A grade,” the student wailed, overcome with grief. Katah said his brother-in-law’s recovery is likely to be long and uncertain, noting that underlying health conditions have complicated his treatment and slowed down the healing process.

“Unfortunately, he has diabetes, which is slowing the surgical process because doctors have to stabilise him first. We are dealing with sugar here and blood pressure, and somebody, who is obviously not in the best of his mind,” Katah added.

Difficult questions

Kosgei’s condition, Katah said, has also complicated burial arrangements, with doctors advising the family not to rush his treatment due to the severity of his injuries and his preexisting medical conditions.

 “We are now in a difficult situation because we want him to at least be able to bury his wife, but the doctors are telling us not to rush the treatment. It is all just overwhelming,” he added.

The family is now caught between grief and uncertainty. For Cheptoo, the second-born in a family of three, the reality is especially cruel. She must now navigate life as both a survivor of one tragedy and a victim of another.

But for Katah, the story does not end with the accident or the fire. In the days since his sister’s death, he said he has found himself grappling not only with grief but also with difficult questions about schools, children and societal values.

“When I reflected on it, I kept asking myself, what leads children to do such a thing?” he said, referring to the fire that is believed to have been started by students.

“I wonder, when these children go to court, will they be charged with murder? And if they are jailed, what does that mean for their future?” he posed.

Already, nine students from the school have been arraigned, with the court granting the prosecution 21 days to detain them as investigations continue.

But even as investigations continue and courts determine responsibility, Katah believes the country should also focus on the moral implications of the tragedy, not just the legal outcome.

“The more I think about it, the more I realise this is not just a road accident or a school fire. It is a crisis of values.

“The burning of that dormitory was not an accident. Someone made a decision, entered rooms at night, identified beds and set them on fire. That is not mischief or a lapse in judgment. It was deliberate and dangerous,” he said.

While not excusing the act, he warned against viewing it only through a criminal lens, noting that minor grievances can escalate into tragedy.

He called for a stronger focus on values in schools and parenting across society.