Eight students have been arrested in Kenya on suspicion of arson following a fatal fire at a girls' boarding school that killed 16 students and injured 79. Arson is a recurring issue in Kenyan schools.

Kenyan authorities have arrested eight students on suspicion of arson over a fire at a girls’ boarding school that killed 16 students, ‌police said on Friday. The fire at the Utumishi Girls’ Academy Senior School in Gilgil in west-central Kenya broke out in the early hours of Thursday and also injured 79 students. Fires are common at Kenyan schools, with many set by students protesting harsh discipline and poor conditions, researchers ⁠have found. “Preliminary investigations have identified...