The tragedy at Utumishi Girls School has left me deeply shaken. Sixteen young girls lost their lives in circumstances too painful to comprehend. Some were burnt beyond recognition. Others suffered severe burns. Behind every one of those young lives was a family, a dream, a future and a community that loved them.
As a prosecutor, I am trained to approach cases objectively and through the lens of the law. But before I am a prosecutor, I am a human being. It is impossible not to feel profound sorrow and outrage at what these young girls endured in their final moments.
The thought of children trapped in a fire, terrified, helpless and ultimately burnt to death is heartbreaking. It is a pain that no parent, sibling, relative, friend, or community should ever have to bear.
Today, families are mourning daughters who will never come home. Parents are grappling with a loss that words cannot adequately describe. Some were denied even the comfort of recognising their children's remains.
The emotional scars carried by survivors, classmates, teachers, first responders and the wider community will endure long after the headlines fade.
The Utumishi tragedy has also brought back painful memories of the Moi Girls School fire case, one of the saddest cases ever handled by my colleagues. In that case, the perpetrator, who was a minor, was convicted of manslaughter after initially being charged with murder.
Whatever the legal outcome, the consequences of that act were catastrophic. Innocent children lost their lives, families were devastated and an entire nation mourned.
This week, our country will once again be called upon to reflect on difficult questions about justice, accountability and the principle of the best interests of the child. Those principles are important and must always be protected.
However, we must also be honest enough to ask where the balance lies when a child commits an act that results in mass loss of life. In our concern for offenders, we must never lose sight of the victims.
My heart is with the families of the girls who perished at Utumishi Girls, with those who survived, and with all who have been affected by this tragedy. What those young girls went through is almost impossible to fathom.
Their deaths were not just tragic; they were horrific. Their suffering, and the suffering of those they have left behind, should never be minimised, forgotten, or excused.
May the souls of the departed rest in peace, and may their families find strength in the difficult days ahead. As a nation, we owe it to them to pursue the truth, demand accountability where it is warranted, and ensure that the memory of these young girls is honoured with justice.
The writer is the principal prosecution counsel at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
