Kenyan teen charged with 9 counts of murder in school fire

NAIROBI, Kenya – A Kenyan teenager has been charged with nine counts of murder and arson in the deaths of her schoolmates in a fire at their boarding school last month.

Justice Luka Kamaru barred the media from the courtroom on Wednesday, saying the rights of the 14-year-old must be protected. She was released on $2,000 bail.

Ten other students were injured in the fire at Moi Girls School in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

The cause of the fire remains unclear.

The fire brought back memories of the deaths of 67 students in a dormitory fire at a high school in eastern Kenya in March 2001. It later emerged the fire was caused by students apparently angered by the school’s administration.