This archive report was first published on 14 July 2021.
On Wednesday at 1:40am, a devastating fire swept through the Runda mansion of Mutahi Ngunyi, a prominent political analyst. The home, where Ngunyi had lived for 27 years, was completely destroyed.
According to Ngunyi, he had been discussing the 2008 Kiambaa violence on the 5th Estate just hours before the fire broke out. He took to Twitter to announce the tragedy, saying, “My house in Runda for 27 years went on fire at 1:45 a.m. Itumbi, you told the Hustlers at 2:01 a.m. About 16 minutes later. That is after I talked about Kiambaa violence of 2008 on 5th Estate,”
Digital strategist Dennis Itumbi had earlier alerted the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) to the fire, tweeting, “Dear Fire Brigade, please rush and save Mutahi Ngunyi’s Runda House from fire. NMS (Nairobi Metropolitan Services), quick action for a guy who supports you if nothing else. Hope the man is safe and family ok. Other than the tweet, I can only pray that you suffer the least damage and be safe!”
Itumbi later responded to Ngunyi's accusations of mischief, saying, “I note the attempt to tie in mischief, but I ignore. If you ever witness/suffer such tragedy, text real time if you can, I will tweet before the 16th minute. Not withstanding what you have talked about hours before. By the way, it takes courage to market your channel, at such moments!”
