Nairobi — Eight students linked to the deadly fire at Utumishi Girls' School in Gilgil will be formally charged in court on Friday following a hearing in Naivasha, prosecutors have confirmed.

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said the suspects, who are currently in custody, are expected to face 16 counts of murder over the dormitory blaze that claimed the lives of 16 students and left dozens injured.

The charges stem from the May 28 fire that broke out in a dormitory at the school, located about 120 kilometres north-west of Nairobi.

Investigators believe the fire was deliberately started after mattresses were allegedly set ablaze near an exit, causing panic among students trapped inside the overcrowded dormitory.

Police said forensic investigations, CCTV footage and witness accounts identified eight pupils aged between 15 and 18 as persons of interest in the planning and execution of the incident.

The inferno tore through the upper floor of a dormitory housing more than 200 students, with survivors reportedly forced to escape through a single doorway after an emergency exit failed to open.

The ODPP said the decision to charge the students followed a detailed review of evidence submitted by investigators.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba earlier disclosed that preliminary investigations had revealed several safety failures at the school, including overcrowding and locked emergency exits.

The tragedy has renewed national debate over student unrest, school safety standards and the rising number of arson cases in Kenyan learning institutions.