A teenage girl who was accused of starting the fire at Moi Girls School Nairobi and killing 10 of her fellow students has been found guilty of manslaughter. The girl was 14 years old and in Form 1 when she burned down the dormitory.
By the time of the fire, the girl was residing in Kabarnet Dormitory. The students had just reported back from holidays when the incident occurred. The girl is said to have started the fire in protest because she wanted to transfer from the school.
The High Court found her guilty of causing the death of the 10 students who died in 2017 at the Moi Girls School Nairobi. She is now 18 years and was transferred to the adult prison as Lang’ata.
The offense of manslaughter is punishable by the maximum penalty of life imprisonment under section 205 of the Penal Code. Parents of the victims welcomed the verdict and hope that the court will do their departed daughters justice.
While convicting the girl on Thursday, the court said she did not start the fire with the intention of killing her schoolmates, but did so in a desperate attempt to get transferred from the school by any means.
“Her aim may have been just to cause a fire and burn the building without hurting anyone, but it was ill-intentioned given that the building had two floors and there were going to be casualties as a result of the fire,” said Justice Stella Mutuku.