The house in Rangwe /HANDOUT
A team of investigators has camped at the home of Rangwe MP Lilian Gogo after a fire razed her house.
The cause of the
fire at Omoche village, Gem East ward in Rangwe constituency on Friday night
was not immediately established.
But preliminary
findings show the work of arson, police said, adding that the motive was not
clear.
No one was home at the time of the incident. The investigators picked up materials from the scene as part of a probe into the incident.
They plan to question various persons of interest in the matter.
Gogo said she had no information on the cause of the fire.
"I was in Kisumu for the funeral arrangements of the late Hon Raila Odinga. Then I got a shocking call that my house had been burnt," she said.
The MP called on security agencies to investigate the cause of the fire and take appropriate action based on the findings.
"I appeal to our security agencies to investigate the incident for appropriate legal action to be taken over the incident," she said.
Rangwe police commander Magdaline Chebet ruled out an electric fault as the cause.
"We have established that the fire occurred when there was a blackout in the area," she said.
Another lead is that there was nobody in the
homestead during the day before the incident.
This ruled out the possibility of an accidental fire, which results from domestic activities.
"There was no family member or worker at home when the inferno started," Chebet said.
"Residents who responded to the emergency could not enter the homestead because the gate was locked with a padlock. They gathered and waited.”
She said police broke the gate and made attempts to put out the fire using water from a borehole. They managed to salvage a few items from the kitchen.
Police sources said the MP had previously requested additional security.
According to Chebet, Gogo already had a male bodyguard and had recently asked for a female officer to join her protection team.
“We were still processing her request for an additional officer when the fire incident occurred,” Chebet said.
Authorities have since secured the property as investigations continue to determine whether the fire was an accident or a deliberate act of sabotage.
