WCC NEWS: Kenyan churches mourn school girls killed in dormitory inferno

Church leaders in Kenya have joined the rest of the country in mourning, after a night fire tore through a school dormitory, killing 16 young girls. Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil in Kenya. Photo: Courtesy photo from the Kenyan Government. 29 May 2026 More than 70 were injured in the tragedy that struck on 27 May at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, about 120 kilometres northwest of Nairobi. The cause of the deadly inferno, which engulfed the first floor of a dormitory accommodating 220 students, has not been determined. Rev. Canon Chris Kinyanjui, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, expressed the council’s sadness at the deaths, while assuring the parents and families of prayers for comfort and consolation. He prayed for the quick and complete healing and recovery of all those suffering physical and emotional injuries. “The tragic deaths of these young learners is a heartbreaking reminder that neglect of stipulated standards by government officials has very expensive consequences,” he said. “This must not be another anecdote in our history, rather, a turning point when the nation says enough is enough and takes action to protect learners in school environments.” Rev. Jackie Makena, a cleric from the Methodist Church in Kenya, said she felt sad that young souls were lost in school while pursuing their dreams. “It is the prayer of every parent to get their kids back home after school, but unfortunately, these parents did not get theirs back. Others have injured children or have children in the hospital,” said Makena.  “It is so worrying, and I pray for peace. I pray that justice will prevail and the root cause of all this will be known.” Kenya’s history of school fires has been tragic, with most of the cases involving students disgruntled by strict discipline or poor conditions in the institutions. In some of the recent cases, a fire killed 21 pupils at a boarding primary school in Nyeri, central Kenya in 2024. In 2018 alone, more than 60 cases of school arson were witnessed. In 2017, 10 students died in a school fire in Nairobi. The high number of casualties in the incidents have been blamed on overcrowding in the dormitories and the failure to follow safety guidelines, including ensuring easily accessible exit doors and unblocked windows. “The failure to enforce school safety standards and architectural requirements to ensure disaster and emergency readiness often results in devastating loss of human lives,” said Kinyanjui. Kenyan president William Ruto, in his condolences, said that no words could truly ease the pain of losing young lives full of promise, hope, and dreams for the future. See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland