Tragedy as 3 family members die in house fire in Kericho

Police are investigating an incident where three family members were killed in a fire in Kapnandet village, Belgut Constituency, Kericho County.

According to the villagers, the trio- an 80-year-old woman, her 52-year-old daughter and their 19-year-old house help were sleeping in their bedrooms when the incident happened on Friday.

Villagers pointed out that the family members were awoken by a loud blast from a cooking gas which emanated from the kitchen of the four-bedroomed bungalow and when they went to check, they discovered that the house had been engulfed by the fire.

They raised an alarm, which attracted the attention of the other villagers and the public who rushed to the scene and attempted to put out the inferno.

However, they were overwhelmed by the intensity of the fire, which spread rapidly and, within a short time, engulfed the entire house.

The fire brigade from the county government of Kericho later arrived at the scene and assisted in extinguishing the fire.

The bodies were moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy and other procedures.Police said they want to establish the cause of the fire as part of the probe into the incident.

Elsewhere, a 66-year-old was found murdered in his bed after suspected murder in a village in Samburu, Kwale County.

Police said Nzole Mumba Chileta was found dead in his house after he had been attacked by unknown assailants. The motive was not immediately known.

The deceased lived alone. The body lay in a pool of blood with injuries on his throat, head, shoulder and ribs.

The body was moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy. In Bahati, Nakuru County, a guard was killed in a robbery on a farm, police said.

The murder happened at Morop Farm. A gang raided the farm and stole a transformer.

One Paul Ekidor, 57 who was a guard at the farm was killed. He was found lying in a pool of blood with the legs and hands tied with a nylon rope.

Two other guards were injured in the attack and taken to hospital in a serious condition.

The body was moved to the mortuary pending an autopsy, police said. Police said they are pursuing the gang behind the murder.
Police say murder incidents have been on the rise amid efforts to solve them.

Up to eight murder incidents are reported daily in the alarming trend.