A family is grieving after a house fire took the life of their child in Meru County.
Members of the community identified the girl, whose remains were found inside a burnt Mulele village home after it caught fire.
According to the child’s mother, the deceased and her brother were in the house with her at the time of the fire.
She said that her mother-in-law had been paralyzed by a stroke and had gone to change her diapers when she left her two children in the house with a candle lit. She said that when she returned, she was met with massive flames.
“I rushed to save the boy, but by the time I returned to save his brother, the house was engulfed in flames, and I couldn’t save her,” she said.
A member of the community said that the child died as a result of a fire caused by a lack of electricity in the home.
“I’m requesting that the government install electricity for the family because their home is next to an electric pole and they can’t afford the installation costs. I implore members of the community to help the family with food and clothing because they have been left with nothing,” he said.
According to the Mulele village area manager, three days before the incident, the husband paid a visit to the family before returning to work. She said that there wasn’t a single firefighting vehicle at Ngundu which could also have saved the life of a goat chained next to the house.
“Leaders only visit when elections are approaching to solicit votes. Our councilor should have been the first on the scene, but he is nowhere to be found. When the incident occurred, we attempted to contact the police, but they did not respond. The police in Ngundu only respond to cases of illicit brew and theft,” she said.
The area manager said that the police at Ngundu are only after money and extortion.
