At around midnight on September 1, 2007, Jackson Otwoma, 78, his wife, Anna Asachi, and their grandchildren — Harrison Odera and Josephine (not her real name) — were sleeping in their house in Muchela village, Vihiga County.
The family was woken up when their house was broken into by a gang of six men armed with torches, machetes, heavy metals, and rungus (clubs).