A woman and her child perished after a fire incident suspected to be a case of suicide in Kasarani sub-county, Nairobi, on the night of Thursday, July 11.
Thirty-year-old Ann Wanjala and her three-year-old daughter, Adaliya Sikukuu, were found burned beyond recognition in their ground-floor apartment at Arcade Seasons Plaza along ACK station.
According to reports, the woman had spent the day with her husband, Dennis Sikukuu, and their two children.
Ann reportedly sent her house help, Lucy Kimumbui, to buy milk, only for her to return and find the house locked from inside and engulfed in flames.
“She told me to take the container and go for milk before the shops closed. She told me not to carry the gate keys and promised to open the gate for me when I came back,” Kimumbui narrated.
“I went quickly and came back when the gate was still open, but the door was locked from inside. I tried calling her phone, but she wasn’t picking up. Afterwards, there was fire.”
Neighbours Rescued One Child
Neighbors broke into the house, extinguished the fire, and rescued one of the children, who is in critical condition at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). However, Ann and the other child succumbed to their burns.
“It was dark, and around three people had their phones on. If there was electricity, it could have been easier. We could have seen where the other child was and maybe rescued her as well. But it was dark, and we were unable to see properly,” Najka Ramadhan, a neighbor, said.
Dennis explained that he was at work when he received the news about the death of his wife and child.
He stated that neighbors called him, clarifying that there was no quarrel between them before the tragedy.
“When I was at work around 9, many people called me. I just received a call, and someone told me my wife had killed herself and the kids. We have not quarreled,” Dennis said.
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Police Report
The house caretaker, Bonface Mosoti, subsequently reported the incident to Kasarani Police Station. The crime scene investigation team found a container suspected to have held petrol and a matchbox in the bedroom, suggesting Ann may have started the fire.
Security officers in Kasarani say they are investigating the circumstances under which the incident happened.
“Orderly Officer Kasarani, Deputy OCS Kasarani, Duty Officer Kasarani, and DCI team proceeded to the scene and entered house no. A1 on the ground floor, where the lifeless bodies of a woman and her child were lying on the bed, their bodies burned beyond recognition,” reads a police report on the incident.
The bodies of the deceased were taken to City Mortuary pending autopsy.
Also Read: Fire Burns Down House with Mother and 3 Children Locked Inside
Mother & Her 3 Children Killed in Kisumu Fire
This comes after a woman and her three children were killed in another suicide fire incident in the Nyamasaria neighborhood of Kisumu County on the night of Wednesday, July 10.
According to reports, an unknown man locked the family in the house, poured petrol around the house, and then set it on fire.
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