Residents of Bulapesa in Isiolo town are in shock following a fire outbreak that left a woman and her four children burnt to death.
The fire started after Tuesday midnight destroying property worth millions and four lives lost in a suspected arsonist incident.
Following the incident, members of the public also killed a suspected woman who was said to have been responsible for torching the house that burnt the family members while on a vengeance mission over an alleged love triangle.
The angry residents set upon the suspect, whom they hunted down and killed, and also burnt her house.
The five bodies of the deceased family were laid to rest at the Bulapesa Muslims’ cemetery according to Islamic custom.
Hundreds of the residents, relatives, family members and neighbours attended the burial that was full of tension.
A relative of the deceased family Abdi Duba said the residents had made efforts to fight the fire but they could not fight it out since it was accelerated by the prevailing strong wind that spread it fast.
Bulapesa area Chief Mr. Abdi Dida confirmed the incident and called for restraint from the residents as the authorities investigated the incident.
He added that swift action had to be taken to rescue the children of the suspected arsonist before the members of the public lynched her.
Mr. Dida asked the elders to continue with calls for peace so as to reduce tension among the residents and the affected families.
A community elder, Mr. Omar Gadana, also called for calm and self-control among the area people and appealed to the security agencies to address the issue as a matter of urgency in a bid to quell the tension.
He said security surveillance should be intensified especially when the public makes reports about any security threat to human lives or their property since if swift response to the deceased’s report had been taken, the kind of loss witnessed could have been prevented.
By David Nduro
