MACHAKOS, Kenya - A fire that swept through sleeping quarters of a school south-east of Nairobi yesterday killing at least 58 teenagers is believed to have been an arson attack, police say. The prime suspects are fellow students whose exams were cancelled over claims of cheating.
The blaze at Kyanguli Secondary School, which started in the middle of the night, consumed the building and trapped the pupils. Some escaped through an open door or a tiny gap between the wall and roof, but many more died as they tried to escape through a second, locked, door.
The police launched a criminal investigation as Red Cross workers removed the victims' remains. The division chief, Julius Narangwi, said: "We highly suspect arson."
Boarders had reported an attempted arson attack the night before. Kanyange Ngila, 14, who was being treated for burns at Machakos District Hospital, said: "That night there was a smell of petrol. The school cleaned it up and tried to investigate. But we don't know who it was."
Days earlier, the mathematics papers of 117 students were cancelled over cheating allegations, and the entire exams of at least 30 students declared void. On Friday, the alleged cheaters tried to organise a one-day strike to have the principal, David Kiiler, removed. But the strike failed.
- INDEPENDENT
58 Kenyan children die in suspected arson
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