A mother in Limuru is yet to come to terms with the events that took the lives of her three children on Monday, November 8.
The three, aged seven, three and 10 months old, died after a fire broke out at their home when their mother had gone to find them food.
While addressing the media, the mother narrated that she had nothing in the house to cook for her children, which prompted her to go ask for help from a friend.
As she left the house, she locked her children inside for safety and the eldest lit a candle to help light the house.
“I wasn’t working yesterday, didn’t have any food to give to my children, and I went to a friend who told me to wait as she tried to get me Ksh50.
“The eldest son lit the candle, but I think he was not able to position it well, causing the fire," she stated.
According to witnesses, when the fire broke out, they rushed to the scene in a bid to help the trapped children, but the door was locked.
By the time they were able to break the door open, it was too late as all the children had burned to death and they were also unable to recover any property.
“This woman had gone to buy her children some food, but when she left, she locked the three children inside the house.
“When we came, the fire was so big but the door was locked. We really tried but when we broke the door, it was too late,” Kimani, one of the residents stated.
“We are not so sure if the candle caused the fire, as their mother claims. We are waiting for the police to give us details,” another neighbour stated.
The three children have been taken to the Kihara hospital mortuary, as police start investigations to determine the cause of the fire.
The residents have since been urged to avoid locking their children in the house, and in a case where the children are so young, they should always take them along.
