Kericho County Referral Hospital, where a man, his wife and their seven-year-old child are admitted with serious burns.
| File | Nation Media GroupKericho
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Couple's dispute over son's circumcision sparks tragic house blaze
What you need to know:
- Investigations showed the man poured petrol on the semi-permanent house and set it on fire.
- According to the woman’s brother, his sister had disagreed with her husband over the circumcision issue.
A dispute between a couple over when their son who is sitting the Standard Eight examinations should be circumcised turned tragic after the man burnt their house with other occupants inside.
As a result, the man, his wife and their seven-year-old child were admitted to Kericho County Referral Hospital after sustaining serious burns.
Twelve rental houses were razed during the Monday night incident at Kimologit village, according to the police.
Preliminary investigations showed the man poured petrol in the semi-permanent house and set it on fire around 1am leading to his 26-year-old wife, their seven-year-old son and himself sustaining serious burns.
They were rescued by neighbours and rushed to Londiani Sub-County Hospital where they were treated, with the mother and child being referred to Kericho County Referral Hospital for specialised treatment.
“The mother sustained 45 per cent burns while her son has 18 per cent burns as a result of the incident,” said Mr Mathew Sang, the hospital’s administrator.
Mr Sang said the woman has been referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for more specialised treatment. She was awaiting to be transferred to the facility at press time.
“The tenants in the rental escaped unhurt but property worth unknown value was destroyed. The public attempted in vain to put out the fire which spread very fast,” Kipkelion East police boss Agnes Munga said.
According to the woman’s brother Collins Ng’etich, his sister had disagreed with her husband over the circumcision issue.
“The family is from a poor background and is unable to meet the hospital expenses. Matters have been complicated by the transfer of my sister to KNH for specialised treatment,” Mr Ng’etich, urging well-wishers to come to their aid.
Luckily, the KCPE candidate was asleep in another house at the time.
