Couple burns to death in suspected land row

An elderly man and his wife were killed after their house in Homa Bay County was set on fire allegedly over a land dispute.

Harrison Ogeka, 78, and Isca Atieno, 70, burnt to death in their house at Kobala village in Rachuonyo South.

Homa Bay County Police Commander Marius Tum said police had arrested the couple's son and his wife in connection with the attack and detained them at the Oyugis Police Station.

Police had a difficult time saving lives of the grandchildren of the couple as villagers who also linked them to the attack bayed for their blood.

A jerrycan suspected to have been used to carry petrol used to set the house ablaze was found near the scene.

Residents claimed some of the grandchildren had been threatening to burn their grandparents’ home. The couple was pulled out of the fire alive but later died at Matata Hospital in Oyugis.

Kawino sub-location assistant Chief Joel Owenga said the couple's son and the children had been threatening to hack them to death over ownership of a piece of land.

"We made several attempts to arbitrate but the son was adamant," said Mr Owenga.

Owenga said the rivalry between the elderly couple and the son began in 2012 when the latter demanded a share of land.

In 2014, the son and grandchildren planned an attack on the Ogekas, and the old man suffered a fracture in both hands and his thighs.

The grandchildren confessed to police that they were responsible for the attack.