An 18-year old girl has been found guilty of manslaughter after causing a school fire that led to the death of 10 girls.
The incident occurred at Moi girls school in Nairobi in September 1, 2017.
At the time, the girl was a minor aged 14 years. She was staying at the Kabarnet dormitory which was burnt down.
While giving her ruling on the case, Justice Stella Mutuku said that the accused did not have intentions of killing her colleagues and her only aim was to get a transfer letter.
“Her aim may have been just to cause a fire and burn the building without hurting anyone, but it was ill intentioned given that the building had two floors and there were going to be casualties as a result of the fire,” the judge said.
According to justice Mutuku, the girl was naive and did not consider the outcome of her actions. She further noted that her attempt to wake up some of her colleagues during the fire was aimed at rescuing them.
The judge said that the prosecution failed to prove the element of malice hence it was impossible to find her guilty of the 10 counts of murder.
“She is hereby acquitted of the 10 counts of murder she is facing. Instead, I find the offence proved beyond reasonable doubt to be manslaughter in all the 10 counts,” judge Mutuku said.
RELATED STORY:Landlady Sets House On Fire Over Rent Dispute With Tenant
