Why Man Set Himself on Fire Outside Supreme Court

A man set himself on fire outside the Supreme Court in Nairobi on Tuesday, March 11, over frustrations for delayed justice.

Identified as James Kipira according to documents found at the scene, the man suffered severe burns in the incident.

He was quickly rescued by security personnel and rushed to the hospital by an ambulance from the Nairobi County government.

According to witnesses, Kipira arrived at the court precincts early in the morning and engaged security officials in conversation before reaching for a bottle of petrol he had carried with him and a bundle of documents.

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Details of the Incident Outside Supreme Court

The witnesses detailed that he initially poured petrol on his neck and attempted to ignite it with a lighter from his pocket, but the fire failed to light. 

He then bent down and lit the fire from his lower body. Security personnel who had detected the smell of petrol rushed to the scene to intervene, but by then, flames had already engulfed him.

However, he quickly changed his mind and began removing his jacket to try and save himself. He threw away his jacket and then removed his shirt which was also on fire. 

A few minutes later, James stumbled and collapsed outside the Supreme Court’s gate as security officers hurried to extinguish the flames using a fire extinguisher.

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Why James Lit himself on Fire

Documents retrieved from the scene revealed that James was distressed over a car sale dispute dating back to 2023 in Mombasa.

According to reports, he had purchased a vehicle he wanted to use for a taxi business, and paid a deposit of Ksh300,000.

However, as he was driving the vehicle to Nairobi, the uninsured car was involved in an accident.

He was forced to transport it back to Mombasa at his own expense, as the sellers had signed an agreement absolving themselves of any responsibility for the vehicle once sold.

Following the accident, the sellers demanded payment of the Ksh1.3 million before they could repair and release the car. He took the matter to court, but the case had dragged on, leaving him frustrated and hopeless.

When he was rescued, James told police officers and medics that he had lost faith in the judicial system because of the lengthy court process, adding that he did not know any other way to express his frustrations. 

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