A Kenyan court charged eight schoolgirls on Wednesday with murder for the deaths of 16 of their fellow students ​in a dormitory fire at a school in Kenya's ‌Rift Valley in late May, the public prosecutor's office said.

The girls died after fire swept through the dormitory at Utumishi Girls' Academy Senior ​School in Gilgil, Nakuru County, located in Kenya's west-central ​region, injuring another 79 students. Students at the school ⁠are aged from 15 to 18 years.

The eight defendants ​appeared before Nairobi's Kibera High Court Judge Diana Kavedza and all ​pleaded not guilty to the charge, the Director of Public Prosecutions said in a statement on its X account.

Prosecutors have so far given no ​other details on the case.

The blaze renewed scrutiny of safety ​in Kenyan boarding schools and recurring student unrest in the education system.

Fires ‌are ⁠common at Kenyan schools, with many set by students protesting against harsh discipline and poor conditions, researchers have found.

Kenya has suffered several deadly school fires. In 2024, a fire at Hillside ​Endarasha Academy in ​Nyeri County killed ⁠21 children.

In the worst school fire of recent times, 67 schoolboys were killed in 2001 at ​Kyanguli Secondary School outside Nairobi, an incident the ​authorities ⁠attributed to arson.

Education Minister Julius Ogamba said in May that unrest since the incident had caused the temporary closure of at ⁠least 204 ​senior schools across the country.

Most schools, ​including Utumishi Girls' Academy Senior School, have since resumed studies.