NAIROBI, May 29 — Kenyan police have arrested eight students suspected of involvement in the burning of a dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County that claimed 16 lives early Thursday morning, authorities said Friday.
A statement from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations issued on Friday in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, said the eight students have been detained for questioning as investigations into the cause of the fire intensify.
“Preliminary investigations have identified eight students as persons of interest in connection with the planning and execution of the suspected arson attack,” the investigators said, noting that the students are believed to have escaped the scene while their fellow students were trapped in the burning dormitory.
The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory, leaving 16 dead and more than 70 others hospitalized with injuries of varying severity.(Namibia Daily News/ Xinhua)
