Utumishi Academy fire: 9 suspects arraigned, to spend another night in custody

Appearing before Naivasha Chief Magistrate Abdulqadir Ramathan, the prosecution sought a 30-day extension to detain the suspects and conclude investigations. 

Despite receiving a nod from the victims' legal counsel, the application was rejected by the respondents' legal counsel, who cited the reasons to detain the suspects as minimal. 

After reviewing both submissions, Magistrate Ramathan revealed that the court will make a ruling tomorrow afternoon on whether to release the suspects on cash bail or grant the prosecution a 30-day extension.  

The development comes after the suspects revealed their motive to the detectives, citing that they were protesting changes to the examination calendar, the school's decision to charge them for a cultural event, and alleged peer influence after a neighbouring boys' school went on strike.

They claimed that the plan to torch the dormitory was conceived at 9 p.m. and executed three hours later.

The seven were apprehended after CCTV footage captured them arriving at the dormitory 10 minutes past midnight and proceeding to set the dormitory on fire while the other students were still asleep. 

Homicide detectives probing the case believe the plan may have involved more individuals, as the presence of paraffin suggests an outsider could have assisted in acquiring the commodity.