- The residents said the house seemed to have been locked from outside and they struggled to break in only to find the six dead.
- The mob started attacking her before the police officers arrived and whisked her to safety.
Image: THE STAR
A 60-year-old woman has been detained at the Kandara police station in Murang’a for allegedly causing a fire that led to the death of her six relatives.
Residents of Nguthuru said they responded to alarming calls at 5 am on Sunday morning and when they got to the homestead, a mother, her three daughters and two granddaughters were in a house on fire.
The arrested woman was a sister to the deceased woman.
Police said a mother, her three children, and two grandchildren were among those killed in the incident, which left residents in shock.
The house where the six were burned to death, had apparently been bolted from the outside before the fire was set, according to police officers familiar with the probe.
Residents also made a similar report.
“The six had huddled together in one room when we found them,” a resident Peter Irungu, said.
Those killed were identified as a 58-year-old widow, Mary Wangui, Cecilia Gathoni, Lucy Mumbi, Jackeline Wambui aged 10, Alvin Kiarie aged three and Margaret Wanja who was a Form Two student at a local school.
Residents were surprised that the suspect was safe and that she had managed to save all her belongings.
The irate residents concluded that she knew that the house would catch fire and may have had a hand in it.
According to Irungu, the mob started attacking her before the police officers arrived and whisked her to safety.
“We were wondering how she managed to save her personal belongings but could not save the lives of her sister and her children,” he said.
Irungu said there were rumours that the family had been experiencing wrangles over a lost mobile phone.
“If the lost phone is found to be the reason behind the inferno then the culprit should be heavily punished,” Irungu said.
He also urged elders to start a campaign to agitate for amicable ways of solving domestic wrangles to avert such incidences.
“If a thing such as a phone can cost that many lives, something needs to be done,” Irungu said.
County commander Ali Muno pledged that the matter will be investigated thoroughly, confirming that the suspect was in police custody.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)