A student who started a fire that led to the death of 10 of her colleagues at the Moi Girls secondary school in Nairobi in 2017 has been found guilty of manslaughter.
The accused at the time a minor was aged 14 years. She was housed in the Kabarnet dormitory where the inferno occurred.
In convicting her, Justice Stella Mutuku said the accused was not starting the fire with the intention of killing her schoolmates but an action born of a desperate attempt to make her be transferred from that school by any means.
"Her aim may have been just to cause a fire and burn the building without hurting anyone but it was I'll intentioned given that the building had two floors and there was going to be casualties as a result of the fire," she said.
The Judge said the accused in her naivety may have overlooked the consequences of her actions. Her attempt to wake some of her friends up was aimed at rescuing them from the fire.
The judge in her judgement said the prosecution had failed to prove the element of malice aforethought, she is not able to find the accused guilty of the offence of murder.
The judge found the accused not guilty of the offence of murder in all 10 counts she is facing.
"She is hereby acquitted of the ten counts of murder she is facing. Instead, I find the offence proved beyond reasonable doubt to be manslaughter in all the 10 counts."
The court found her guilty of manslaughter.
On 1 September 2017, Kabarnet dormitory was gutted by an inferno that left 10 of the students who had just reported back to school dead and their families grieving the loss of their daughters.
The accused at that time a minor was aged 14 years and housed in Kabarnet dormitory. She is now 18 years.
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