The mother of a 13-year-old girl who was burned alive inside a church in Nanyuki shared intricate details leading to the tragic event.
The mother identified as Fridah Kagwiria told the press on Wednesday, January 11, that she had gone to work leaving the girl under the care of her aunt.
While working, she got reports that the daughter had sneaked away from home, and her whereabouts remained unknown.
“When I got a report that my daughter had gone missing, I rushed to make a police statement.
“I was told that if she did not show up in 24 hours, the police would mount a search,” a distraught mother told the press.
With the police not taking action, the family mounted a frantic search for the missing girl.
“While we were looking for my daughter, we heard screams coming from a nearby church.
“We rushed there to find a building inside the church was on fire and we joined other neighbors in helping put off the fire,” she narrated.
During the process, the church caretaker revealed that he had locked a thief inside the building.
“I could not envision that it was my daughter who was being referred to as a thief because the caretaker told us it was a man.
“I was shaken after the fire died to see shoes belonging to my daughter,” the mother narrated in tears.
Kagwiria wants police officers to investigate the case as she believes there was foul play.
“My daughter was defiled before being murdered; the fire was an attempt to hide evidence.
“Why did the caretaker initially say it was a man and also why was my daughter found in a sleeping position if she was a thief?” she posed.
Police officers have already arrested the suspect who is helping with investigations.
“The caretaker claimed that he intentionally set the house on fire because there was a thief inside.
“We have arrested him to help us with investigations as we wait for postmortem results,” a statement from Laikipia County Police Commander John Nyoike read in part.
