DCI Director of Homicide Martin Nyuguto addressed parents and relatives of the 16 students at the Naivasha Sub-County Hospital Funeral Home, where post-mortem examinations were conducted.
The autopsies, led by a team of pathologists under Dr. Dorothy Njeri, revealed that all 16 students died as a result of severe burns. DNA samples were collected from the families of the deceased to facilitate the formal identification of remains.
The identification process was necessitated by the extreme condition of the bodies. Government pathologist Dr. Titus Ngulungu had earlier explained that the victims were so extensively burned that visual identification was impossible, requiring forensic procedures to establish their identities.
"The bodies, most of them, are completely charred — completely consumed by the products of combustion," he said.
The DNA sampling exercise began on Saturday at the Naivasha Sub-County Referral Hospital Mortuary, though not without frustration.
Parents who had turned up as early as Friday morning were initially redirected to the school, lamenting poor communication from authorities.
Families were informed that no bodies would be released until DNA results were finalised and all victims formally identified.
"No parent should go through what we went through today — viewing all 16 bodies to narrow down to your child is heartbreaking. Our daughters really suffered," said one grieving relative.
Meanwhile, nine students accused of starting the fire appeared in a Naivasha court. Police are pursuing a murder charge against the suspects, with CCTV footage placing them at the centre of the arson that killed 16 students and left 79 others injured.
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