Hundreds of mourners gathered in the central Kenyan town of Gilgil to pay tribute to the 16 students who died in a fire at a girls' school last month.
The students' bodies were placed in white coffins adorned with flowers. On each coffin was a portrait of a victim.
The First Lady of Kenya, Rachel Ruto, attended the memorial ceremony. She offered words of comfort.
To the students who have lost friends, I know that many of you have questions that don't have easy answers. Cry freely, support each other, and remember that you are not going through this alone ," the First Lady said.
Family members, classmates, and community members paid tribute to and remembered the girls during the memorial ceremony, while local leaders called for justice.
"As a government, we will never tolerate acts of anarchy, violence and vandalism in our schools. The perpetrators of such acts, as happened in this case where nine students were involved in this unfortunate arson, will face legal and criminal charges and will be brought to justice ," said Julius Ogamba, Secretary of State for Education.
The nine accused girls, who were students at the school, remain in police custody. Interrogations have revealed that the fire on May 28th was started by a burning mattress.
Their motive has not yet been disclosed.
