Detectives have arrested a 33-year-old man after his 96-year-old grandmother died in a house fire in Siaya County in an incident police are investigating as suspected arson.
The incident occurred in Ayoo B Village, Nyang’oma Sub-location, Siaya Sub-county.
Police said the victim, identified as Josphine Atieno Odongo, was trapped inside the burning house and was burnt beyond recognition after the fire spread rapidly.
According to preliminary investigations, the suspect, who is the deceased's grandson, allegedly set the house on fire before fleeing.
Police said the prolonged dry spell in the area contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, hampering efforts by neighbours to rescue the elderly woman.
The motive for the suspected arson has not been established.
Police said the suspect lived in the same homestead as his biological mother and the deceased.
Police officers visited the scene, which was processed and documented by Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) personnel.
The suspect was arrested shortly after the incident and is being held at Siaya Police Station as detectives continue with investigations.
The body of the deceased was moved to the Siaya County Referral Hospital mortuary, where it is awaiting a post-mortem examination.
Police said investigations are ongoing to establish the circumstances that led to the fatal fire.
Meanwhile, police in Siaya County have launched investigations after the body of an unidentified man was discovered in an open field at Kodiaga Market in Gem-Yala Sub-county on Wednesday morning.
According to police, the incident was reported by residents who alerted officers after the body was found within a walled compound near a murram road leading to a restaurant.
Police officers visited the scene and established that the deceased was an emaciated adult male lying on his back.
Police said the body had a small bruise on the left eyelid, although no other visible injuries were immediately observed.
Crime scene investigators processed the scene before the body was moved to the Yala Level IV Sub-County Hospital mortuary, where it is being preserved pending identification and a post-mortem examination.
Authorities said investigations are underway to establish the identity of the deceased and determine the cause of death.
The case is being investigated by detectives from the Gem-Yala Sub-County Criminal Investigations Office.
Elsewhere, police in Murang’a County are investigating the death of a 44-year-old man whose body was found lying beside a road in Muchungucha Village.
According to a police report, the body of Michael Mwangi Nduati was discovered on Wednesday morning near Faith Church in the Muchungucha area.
Police visited the scene and established that the deceased was lying beside the road.
Police said Nduati was last seen alive on Tuesday at about 1 p.m. at Muchungucha Trading Centre.
A preliminary examination revealed that the body had no visible physical injuries.
Crime scene personnel processed and documented the scene before the body was moved to the Murang’a Level 5 Hospital mortuary, where it is awaiting a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death.
Police have launched investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death.
