A 33-year-old man was arrested after his 96-year-old grandmother died in a house fire in Siaya County in an incident police are treating as suspected arson.
The incident occurred on Tuesday in Ayoo B Village, Nyang’oma Sub-location within 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.
The prolonged dry spell in the area is said to have contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, frustrating efforts by neighbours to rescue the elderly woman.
The motive for the alleged arson has not yet been established. Police said the suspect lived in the same homestead with his biological mother and the deceased.
A team of 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.
Scholarships fraud victims stage protests in Eldoret demanding refunds after acquittal of Mandago, co-accused
Victims of the Finland and Canada scholarships scandal on Tuesday staged demonstrations in Eldoret town demanding refund of their money.
They also threatened to continue with the protests every week until their funds are refunded.
Police did not disrupt the protests that came days after some of the key suspects in the scandal were acquitted by a Nakuru Court.
“If they don’t return our money, we will continue with the demonstrations, or they should give us an alternative solution,” said one of the protesters.
The victims accused leaders for not pushing for their rights after the court acquitted senator Jackson Mandago and two others.
The protesters staged the protests to the local Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission offices.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission regional manager Kuntai Ole Tingisa had a rough time while trying to answer the parents and their children as to why the case was rendered less
evidence.
Ole Tingisa asked the parents to appeal the case, noting that it’s beyond their mandate.
The victims instead argued that they had submitted sufficient evidence.
“Around 200 people were witnesses—they brought bank slips, they brought account details, they brought advertisements, they brought admission letters—and at the end Mandago and his associates were acquitted,” said one of the victims.
They also asked for President William Ruto’s intervention in the matter.
In the July 23 verdict, Principal Magistrate Alloyce Ndege ruled that dozens of witnesses had testified during the trial, but the charges had not been proved to the required legal threshold.
Both the EACC and DCI were investigating the case. A tussle between the two agencies on the handling of the evidence gathered led to the collapse of the case, insiders said.
One agency withheld evidence it had gathered from the other when it was needed in court.
Some pundits argue this was by design to collapse the case and help those involved.
There is a push to ensure the victims are compensated.
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