NAKURU, KENYA: Three members of a family were burnt to death when a fire gutted their house in Kiambereria in Molo sub-county, Nakuru.
The victims; Jackson Njogu (father), his daughter Mary Muthoni, 2, and sister-in-law Mary Wajiru were in the house when the fire started at around 10.30pm on Monday.
"We were sleeping when we heard someone screaming for help. We came out and found the wife of the deceased asking for help as the fire consumed her house," said James Kinuthia, a neighbour.
Mr Kinuthia said the woman was standing far away from the house and was not sure whether her husband and children were in the house.
Together with the area chief and other neighbours, they tried to put out the fire in vain because the grease smeared on the wooden house acted as the fire catalyst.
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Another neighbour, John Njogu, said he was with the man on Monday evening when he (the deceased) asked him for some financial help to buy food for the family.
"Mr Njogu told me he was broke and needed money for food and was afraid of going home. He said he was going to a nearby M-pesa and leave his phone as security for a loan of Sh300," he said.
Neighbours on condition of anonymity told The Standard that the couple has been having domestic squabbles for sometime.
"The man survived on casual jobs to sustain the family, which seem to have been the source of domestic quarrels persistent in the family," said a neighbour.
Area OCPD, Paul Cheruiyot, said the wife was helping the police with investigations. "We need to find out the cause of the fire. Already, the woman is under custody," he said.
