Hilda Njeri, a survivor of the Utumishi Girls Academy fire, has narrated how she managed to escape death by jumping off a window on the first floor of the dormitory.
She said that she woke up to screams on Thursday, May 28 at midnight. Upon leaving her cube, she was met with smoke and fire.
“Mimi vile niliamka, nilikua naskia nduru,” she said, “Nikitoka nje ya cube, napatana na moto na moshi mingi, but sikua najua mahali moto imetoka.”
Njeri said she had to jump off a nearby window since the fire had blocked the path to the exit.
“Nikienda kutoka, moto ikafunga barabara kabisa. Nikarudi nyuma, nikatoa cardboards na nikaruka.”
According to Njeri, the dormitory door is usually locked from the inside while students are asleep and secured from the outside when they are in class. However, on Thursday, May 28, the door was reportedly locked from the outside while students were inside.
The fire at Utumishi Academy claimed the lives of 16 students, and left at least 79 other students injured.
The recovered bodies have been transferred to the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital Mortuary, whereby a Government-supported DNA identification exercise will be conducted in order to assist the families in positively identifying their loved ones.
Meanwhile, eight students have been arrested over their alleged involvement in the planning and execution of the suspected arson attack. Detectives are continuing to record statements and examine available evidence to piece together the events leading up to the fire.
