7 girls killed in Kenya dormitory fire, official says
Seven girls died early Saturday when a fire gutted their
dormitory at a high school in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, the country's
education minister said.
The cause of the fire was
unknown, Fred Matiangi said. Moi Girls High School will be closed for
two weeks to allow for investigations.
"At 2 a.m. our matron came
telling us to get out of the hostel because there was fire in one of the
hostels," student Warda Sadique told The Associated Press. "So most of
the people were panicking, some were jumping through the windows."
Both Kenyan President Uhuru
Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga quickly expressed their
concern over the deaths. Both are returning to campaigning after
Friday's surprise Supreme Court ruling nullifying last month's election
and calling for a new vote within 60 days.
The fire brought back memories of the deaths of 67 students
in a dormitory fire at a high school in eastern Kenya in March 2001. It
later emerged the fire was caused by students apparently angered by the
school's administration.
Last year, at least 126 high
schools experienced arson attacks in what appeared to be protests by
students over the shortening of holidays and limiting of visits by
parents. Matiangi took those measures after widespread cheating in 2015
high school final-year exams.
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