Two children die in house fire in Suba, family suspects arson
Neighbours at the scene where two children died in a house fire in Gwassi West Location in Suba South, Homa Bay County.
Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Suba are investigating a suspected arson attack that led to the death of two children.
The family from Gwassi West Location believe that an unknown person or group of people set fire to their house and killed the two children in the early hours of Saturday morning while their parents were at a vigil at a nearby home.
The children were sleeping in the house when it caught fire.
Gwassi West Chief Tobias Opiyo said the children were burnt beyond recognition.
The children – Saviour Omondi, 3, and his brother Reagan Otieno, 18 months – had spent the previous evening with their parents before eating dinner and going to bed.
According to the chief, the couple left the house at 1am for the night prayers. But at 3am, they heard screams coming from their house.
"The man has two wives. He left his home with his second wife," Mr Opiyo said.
The first wife was the first to spot the fire and called for help.
According to the administrator, the fire had engulfed the house by the time the man arrived.
The family reported that they had earlier prepared their evening meal on a traditional stove outside the house and that the fire had been extinguished.
"They immediately concluded that it was an arson attack because there was no source of fire in the house," Mr Opiyo said.
The chief added that the family had complained of being stalked by an unknown person who would appear at night.
Mr Opiyo said his second wife once expressed concern that she had seen someone watching their house at night.
The fire incident was reported to DCI officers in Magunga.
The bodies of the children were taken to St Camillus Mortuary in Sori, Migori County, pending investigations into the incident.
