A fresh court case has put the planned use of the Utumishi Girls Senior School dormitory destroyed in last year's deadly fire under scrutiny, with two lobby groups seeking orders to stop its reopening until all safety concerns raised after the tragedy are fully addressed.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Elimu Bora Working Group have moved to the High Court in Naivasha, arguing that the Meline Waithera dormitory should remain out of use until the school and other responsible agencies put in place all the required safety measures.
Their petition comes months after 16 learners died in an arson attack at the school. Eight students linked to the incident have since been arraigned at the Kibera Law Courts, where they face 16 counts of murder.
In the constitutional petition, the organisations insist that reopening the dormitory before implementing the required safety standards would expose learners to unnecessary risk.
“Reopening and use of the Meline Waithera dormitory should be stopped until all proper safety measures are put in place by the school and other duty bearers.”
The lobby groups say the Utumishi Girls tragedy is part of a worrying pattern that has continued for years because those charged with enforcing school safety regulations have repeatedly failed to act.
“For long, duty bearers have failed to implement Ministry of Education guidelines even after the country witnessed similar fire tragedies. The repetition of this pattern of preventable dormitory fires is not a coincidence but the predictable consequence of chronic, wilful dereliction by multiple duty bearers,” the petition adds.
Investigations conducted after the fire established that the dormitory was overcrowded. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba also pointed to several failures in complying with the School Safety Manual and the Basic Education Regulations.
“The school did not adhere to the safety requirements as stipulated in the School Safety Manual and the Basic Education Regulations,” stated Julius Ogamba, noting that one of the dormitory’s exit doors was permanently locked.
The petition names the Attorney-General, the Utumishi Girls Senior School Board, the Education Cabinet Secretary, the National Education Board, the Nakuru County Director of Education and the Education Standards and Quality Assurance Council as respondents.
According to the petitioners, repeated deaths in school dormitories show that authorities have ignored recommendations made after previous tragedies and have failed to enforce existing safety laws.
“Past tragedies have occurred but they are followed with lip service by officers at the county and national levels.
The duty bearers have repeatedly failed to implement legally mandated safety standards, heeded no warnings from past tragedies and not acted upon audits and task force recommendations in their possession. For how long will this continue? We demand that the Utumishi Girls Senior School becomes the last to experience such a preventable tragedy,” reads the petition.
The organisations further argue that schools should provide safe learning environments and that avoidable deaths must come to an end.
“The loss of young lives due to systemic failures by various duty bearers in the exercise and discharge of their duties is unacceptable. Going forward,no parent or guardian should bury their young children because of a similar tragedy. Boarding schools should not become death traps,” the petitioners add.
Justice Cecilia Githua has certified the matter as urgent and directed that all the respondents be served before the case is heard.
“Given the nature of the orders sought, I direct that the petition be served on all respondents forthwith before the matter is heard. The petitioners have seven days to serve the respondents with the papers,” stated Justice Githua.
The case has been filed at a time when the school has resumed learning under a phased reopening plan, with parents continuing to demand urgent improvements to safety and infrastructure.
Among the issues they want addressed are safer dormitories and classrooms, proper emergency exits, fire alarms, fire extinguishers, stricter enforcement of safety regulations, reduced congestion and reliable water supply.
The parents have also given the government one month to begin construction of a new dormitory and other facilities to ease overcrowding.
“We are asking President William Ruto to urgently intervene and order the Ministry of Education to set aside funds for construction of a dormitory.
The school also needs other facilities like classrooms to address overcrowding,” parent Lucy Wanjiru told the Nation.
“It is unfortunate that our girls have to sleep in temporary structures within the school compound. Why should learners sleep in makeshift structures after such a tragedy? We want President Ruto to urgently intervene and end overcrowding at the institution,” she added.
Other parents say little progress has been made despite the tragedy exposing the school's infrastructure challenges.
“It is sad that our girls died and we are still without proper dormitories. It is clear that the school is under pressure to match enrolment with investment in infrastructure. The dormitories as currently designed house far more students than they were built to accommodate,” said Edwin Ahmed, another parent.
Parents are also demanding regular fire drills as part of improved emergency preparedness.
“As part of fire-fighting preparedness, we the school to adhere to the Ministry of Education’s safety standards which require regular fire drills,” said parent Joseph Towett.
An eight-hour meeting involving parents, school management and education officials agreed on a staggered return of learners, with Form Four students reporting on July 2, Grade 10 on July 6 and Form Three on July 9.
Some parents have also applied to be enjoined in the court proceedings as interested parties, saying they want to safeguard both learners' safety and the continuation of education.
“As parents and guardians, we understand the importance of ensuring that learning resumes without further interruptions, especially for candidates who will be sitting for their KCSE examinations in a few months,” said a Form Four parent.
As temporary measures remain in place, Form Four students are being accommodated in the dining hall while Form Three learners are staying in makeshift tents. Other students are housed in the dormitories that were not affected by the fireCourt Petition Seeks to Keep Utumishi Girls Fire Dorm Closed