NAIROBI, Kenya– Prosecutors in Kenya have prepared murder charges against students accused of starting a dormitory fire in May that killed 16 girls at a secondary school, officials said Tuesday.

The May 28 fire gutted a dormitory housing 202 students at Utumishi Girls’ School in central Kenya, and students were forced to flee through a single door when the school principal failed to open an emergency exit.

Police later arrested nine suspects and said they started the fire by setting fire to a mattress near an exit.

The suspects, who are being held for a 21-day investigation period, will be formally charged in court, Kenya’s office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said.

The office also expressed concern over what it saw as an increase in reported fires at schools across the country, and said those responsible would be held accountable.

In early June, the Kenya Red Cross said it had responded to 37 school fires since the start of the year.

Last month, Kenya’s Ministry of Education suspended the headmistress of Utumishi Girls’ School for failing to comply with fire safety regulations at the school.

The ministry also said it had closed more than 300 schools following a tragic fire in 2024 that killed 21 boys in central Kenya.

Fires in schools are a major concern in Kenya because classrooms and dormitories are often crowded and there is usually no firefighting equipment in place. Authorities sometimes cite poor electrical connections as the cause of fires.

The deadliest school fire in Kenya’s recent history occurred in 2001, when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos County.