Dormitory fires appear to be a staple worry for parents of children attending boarding schools in Kenya and Tanzania. However, the situation is worse in Kenya. Imagine, within just 24 hours of the fire that claimed 16 young lives and left over 80 others injured at Utumishi Girls Academy, Gilgil, some 170 kilometres from Nairobi during the early hours of morning on May 28, 2026, another fire broke out at Gacharage Girls Secondary School that gutted a dormitory for over 88 girls.
Luckily, there were no casualties or injured at Gacharage but the anxiety among parents and family, was nonetheless heart wrenching. Police have taken in eight students for questioning as ‘persons of interest’ in a suspected case of arson at Utumishi Girls Academy, after law enforcers reviewed CCTV camera footage.
We trust the police shall finally get to the root of the matter. However, if confirmed that some pupils, and girls for that matter, actually decided to burn up fellow pupils as they slept soundly during those innocent hours of the night, then it shall have become clear that Kenya has a much deeper problem that should look at the moral and mental health and clarity of its young population.
That is not what I wanted to say though. Rather, my column this week is dedicated to young Cecilia Wanjiku, who lost her life trying to save the lives of other much younger children at Utumishi Girls.
Instead of running away, Wanjiku (16) ran into the fire with just a blanket she had doused in water.
According to reports, she managed to reach the second floor where she was heard shouting orders to terrified children: “Follow me, low, low, low.” But alas, the heat was just too intense and Wanjiku was among the 16 girls who lost their lives in the inferno. A true leader gone too early.
Wanjiku did not react according to some scripted stage play. Rather, she rose to the spur of the moment under an extremely dangerous situation. Wanjiku chose courage over fear and death; and for that alone, though gone she lives on in our hearts beyond exemplary for her courage and spirit.
War veterans will relate her action to moments when many a soldier threw themselves over exploding ordnance to shield and save their company. Wanjiku did nothing less.
It is therefore my humble plea and prayer that Wanjiku deserves a medal. A golden medal actually, that would be awarded annually to young girls and boys globally who demonstrated exceptional courage and gallantry under conditions of extreme adversity to personal safety. It is the only fitting way and reward to both honour and repay Wanjiku for her selfless service and spirit to save the lives of fellow sisters for which she lost her own.
Perhaps, if emergency exists weren’t padlocked at the time of the fire breakout, we would at this very moment be telling a different story. Wanjiku would have been celebrated as a heroine, which she is, with the train of the souls she saved. We should never forget her spirit and effort.
