Three children were killed after a house fire destroyed their family home in Kahuho village, Kabete, Kiambu County.
The fire broke out on Monday, March 3, in the afternoon, police said.
The fire
flattened a house where the three were resting, attributing the cause to a gas
cylinder that exploded.
Investigations
are, however, ongoing, police said.
In a separate incident, a 93-year-old man died in a fire at his home in Ngecha, Limuru.
The victim was alone at the time of the incident, police said, adding his remains were found long after the fire had been contained.
Kabete police commander Anthony Mbogo confirmed the incident involving the children, saying they are investigating it.
He said
the children were aged 14, five and two. They were
all siblings.
"We
are investigating to know how it happened. This is the second such incident to
kill children, which we deem tragic," he said.
The fire spread quickly, consuming two residential houses, and the situation
was exacerbated by the delayed arrival of the fire engine.
Locals protested the delay, demanding an explanation from the
authorities. The children’s father said they tried to save the lives of the
victims in vain.
"It was a gas cylinder explosion, and I tried to save my children, but I
was unable to," Mwangi told journalists at the scene.
He added that locals rushed there and tried their best to contain the fire, but it was all in vain.
The fire brigade arrived when it was already too late because the children had died.
The bodies were moved to the mortuary. Two weeks ago, three other children died in a similar incident in the area.
Police said they are yet to determine the cause of the fire amid an investigation.
Meanwhile, a seven-year-old boy died after falling from a mango tree in Migwani, Kitui County.
Police said the boy had climbed the tree to harvest fruits when he slipped and fell to the ground.
He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police said he had sustained serious back and head injuries.
The body was moved to a local mortuary pending autopsy.
