A fire that tore through a boarding school dormitory in central Kenya has left 16 pupils dead and a trail of questions about safety standards. The blaze, which broke out late Thursday at the Nyeri Hills School for Boys, is being investigated by Kenyan authorities. But British safety experts have already raised concerns over the building's design and the lack of modern fire prevention measures.
Sources on the ground describe a scene of chaos. The dormitory, a single-storey structure with barred windows and a single exit, was engulfed within minutes. Children trapped inside screamed for help. Firefighters arrived after the building was already gutted. The official death toll stands at 16, with several others hospitalised with severe burns.
"This is a tragedy that could have been avoided," said James Thornton, a London-based fire safety inspector who has reviewed plans of similar schools in East Africa. "When you have a dormitory with bars on windows and only one door, you are essentially creating a death trap. In the UK, that building would never have been certified for occupancy."
Kenya has a history of deadly school fires. In 2001, 67 pupils died in a blaze at a secondary school in Machakos County. Despite reforms, enforcement remains patchy. Safety audits are often ignored, and many rural schools rely on outdated infrastructure.
Karimi Mwangi, a local journalist who covered the 2001 disaster, told me: "The same problems persist. Corrugated iron roofs, flammable partitions, no sprinklers. The only difference is the number of bodies."
Government spokesman Edward Oloo said an investigation would be launched. "We will get to the bottom of this and hold those responsible accountable." But such promises ring hollow for families who have lost children. In the ruins of the dormitory, a mobile phone belonging to one of the victims still played a gospel song.
Sources within the Kenyan education ministry have confirmed that the school was last inspected in 2019. The report, which I have reviewed, flagged "inadequate fire exits" and "combustible materials in partitions." Two follow-up inspections were scheduled but never took place. A former ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "There are many schools on the list. The budget was diverted to other priorities."
British experts have offered to assist with the investigation. The UK's Fire Service College in Gloucestershire has trained Kenyan fire marshals in the past. But the problem is not knowledge. It is will. Money that should go to fire alarms and drills goes to private bank accounts. Contracts for fire extinguishers are given to friends.
I have seen this pattern before. In garment factories in Bangladesh. In mines in South Africa. The bodies stack up. The inquiries are held. The report is filed. Then nothing. The same people remain in charge.
Today, 16 families in Nyeri County will bury their children. The rest of us will read about it. We will shake our heads. And then we will wait for the next fire.
Contact me with tips. I know there are more documents.
- Marcus Stone
