Ruptly
"Grieving parents and family members gathered for a memorial service on Sunday to honour the 16 students killed in a devastating dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, which authorities believe was a deliberate act of arson. Footage shows distraught family and community members gathering for the service in Naivasha, with many in tears as they listened to speeches by other parents and the Venerable Joseph Wanjohi, Archdeacon of the Anglican Church All Saints Naivasha. Among those remembered was Gertrude, a student who reportedly escaped the initial flames but tragically died after heading back into the burning building to save a friend. Her aunt, Elizabeth Munyaga, described her niece as a "very obedient, very god-fearing young girl, you know, very ambitious, very happy." "It's a day like we would not want to remember for the rest of our lives, or we wouldn't wish it to happen to any Kenyan or any human being for that matter, because it was one of the darkest days, I think, of our lives," Munyaga explained. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested eight female pupils from the academy on suspicion of arson. However, demands for immediate accountability from the school dominated the service, particularly regarding reports that the students were actively trapped inside the burning building. "According to some sources, the dorm was locked from the outside. So that is why so many students never got out. Why lock human beings like animals?" asked Munyaga. This is not the first time students' lives have been lost to arson in Kenya, with the Utumishi disaster evoking painful memories of the 2001 Kyanguli secondary school fire tragedy, which claimed the lives of 67 boys. “Right from the [Kyanguli] fire tragedy, safety measures were put in place to be implemented in boarding schools. But I asked, how many more lives must we lose before the government intervenes?” asked Archdeacon Wanjohi. “If we were living in an advanced democracy, the Minister for Education would have resigned by now.” "This should be the end. I think the Utumishi tragedy should be the end of this madness. Let this be the last parents who are going to cry," Munyaga added. The government has since disbanded the Utumishi Girls Academy Board of Management, following evidence of severe structural negligence and overcrowding. Legal and disciplinary measures are also currently being pursued against school leadership and staff members who reportedly ignored prior student warnings about the alleged arson plot."
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