This archive report was first published on 9 January 2020.
On Monday night, a devastating house fire in Murang'a South Sub County claimed the life of 85-year-old Pauline Wanjiru. The body was recovered on Tuesday morning by local residents, who were left shaken by the tragedy.
According to eyewitnesses, Wanjiru was an active woman who could have cried out for help when the fire started. However, her cries were allegedly ignored, and the perpetrators wanted to depict the incident as a normal accident.
Joseph Mwangi, Wanjiru's nephew, alleged that a freshly dug hole near the granny's house indicated that she was to be buried there after being killed, but the murderers decided to set her ablaze in her own house.
Murang'a South Sub County Police Commander Dorothy Gaitenge has launched an investigation into the incident, citing a worrying trend of elderly citizens dying in their homes, with suspicion of arson attacks suspected to relate to feuds over family properties.
Over the past two months, three incidents have been reported in the Sub County, with the victims dying in their homes. Gaitenge noted that cases of family disputes are highly contributing to murder cases, which are often camouflaged to look like a suicide.
Locals suspect that Wanjiru was targeted by those who wanted to inherit her land and other properties. Murang'a County Commissioner Mohammed Barre had previously ordered investigations into suicide incidents, following suspicions that some victims could be killed following land disputes.
