Grieving family members at Murang'a Level Five Hospital mortuary, where the bodies of two boys who were burnt to death were taken. (Inset) Francis Njoroge who was lynched after the arson attack.
A love affair between a 34-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman in Murang'a has ended tragically, leaving three people dead.
According to Murang'a County Police Commander Benjamin Kimwele, the relationship came to a tragic end after the young man accused his widowed lover of cheating with a 68-year-old man.
In a fit of rage, the jilted lover burned down the woman's house with two children - Jeff Githiria and Chris Kuria, both aged nine - inside on the night of November 7, 2024, in Kamira village, Kiharu Constituency. In retaliation, a mob lynched the attacker, Francis Njoroge.
"The emotions of the love triangle led to the deaths of two boys both aged nine years and the 34-year-old man," Mr Kimwele said.
According to the police, Njoroge occasionally visited Ms Mary Wanjiku, a widow, at her home.
At around 11 pm, police say the young man turned up at the home only to find there was an elderly man aged 68.
Police say this upset the young man so much that he went into a murderous rage.
"The young man became violent...He disappeared from the compound but returned later. He locked the woman's house from the outside and after dousing it with flammable liquid believed to be petrol, he set it ablaze," Mr Kimwele said.
The two young boys who were asleep in the house were burnt beyond recognition.
Ms Wanjiku lived in the house with her grandchild and also another child belonging to a friend.
"The two children perished in the fire," Mr Kimwele said.
Unbeknownst to Mr Njoroge, the woman, sensing danger, had fled the house with her elderly friend.
Ms Wanjiku told Nation.Africa that she sought help from neighbours after she heard Njoroge cursing and vowing to do something big that would put him in jail for a long time.
"He had vowed to harm us. I went to my son's homestead to seek help...but it was too late. From a distance, I saw my house burst into a ball of fire, the raging flames illuminating the dark night in an eerie picturesque ... The shock that engulfed my soul made me faint," she said.
Peaceful
She added: "The flames were so strong that I did not need to wait to know that two young souls would be dead...a son belonging to my daughter who works in Nairobi and another belonging to a barmaid at the nearby shopping centre who would leave him in my care while she worked at night."
She said Mr Njoroge, despite being a bhang and alcohol user, had remained peaceful, compassionate and understanding in the two years they knew each other.
"We were friends, yes...he would visit me and eat at my house. He worked as a sand harvester and worked hard...he was generous and loving," she said.
It was not until 3am that crime scene investigators from the Murang'a East sub-County Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrived at the scene and retrieved the two bodies.
According to Murang'a County DCI boss Mr Obed Isanda, crime scene investigators processed the scene.
"It was raining and it was a difficult task... However, we managed to retrieve the bodies and took them to Murang'a Level Five Hospital mortuary for preservation and autopsy," he said.
Mr Isanda said officers have since taken statements from Ms Wanjiku and several neighbours.
Meanwhile, Mr Njoroge had fled the scene and police had issued an alert that he was wanted in connection with the arson and the two deaths.
"We believe that his arrest will be crucial to our investigations into this arson and the murder of the two children... His arrest is now our priority since he has gone into hiding," said Mr Kimwele.
Angry neighbours, however, had their idea of justice.
On Friday morning, the suspect was spotted in the neighbourhood by a team of villagers who had launched a manhunt for him.
Mr Njoroge was attacked with farm implements until he died, bringing the number of tragedies to three.
"The law of Moses applies in some cases...there is no way justice could have been done if he had been arrested. We would have been asked by the police and the judges to provide evidence of first-hand witness statements that he was responsible for the murder of the two angels," remarked an elderly man armed with a hammer.
He added: "We all know that this is the man who started the fire and in our interrogation, he admitted...that the fire caused the death of the two children...this is the arsonist and the murderer.
Mr Isanda cautioned members of the public against taking the law into their own hands, confirming that the suspect's body has since been taken to the mortuary at Murang'a Level Five Hospital.
"We cannot allow the law of the jungle to overthrow the rule of law. We cannot usher in the anarchy of revenge as an aspect of acceptable justice," he said.
Mr Isanda said, "We are now investigating the crime of murder in relation to the lynching of our prime suspect...There is no crime that is committed by a mob...the culpability is individual and we are determined to apprehend those who murdered the suspect".
