Kenyan Newspapers Review: Tears, Pain As Fire Kills 3 Children At Night, Mother Narrowly Survives

On Saturday, September 14, the local newspapers widely reported on the unprecedented sentencing of Acting Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli to six months in prison by Justice Lawrence Mugambi.

The dailies also covered the Senate's inquest into the controversial deal between the government and India's Adani Group.

1. The Star

Twenty soldiers and four police officers from Jamaica arrived in Haiti to join a UN-backed mission led by Kenya to fight powerful criminal gangs.

Jamaica is the second country to join the mission, which was approved by the UN Security Council in October 2023.

The mission began when the first contingent of Kenyan police arrived in Haiti in late June.

Joining the Jamaicans were two senior military officers from the Central American country of Belize, according to its government. A US military plane transported the Jamaicans and Belizeans to Haiti.

Authorities in Jamaica had announced the deployment and said the troops would be responsible for providing command, planning, and logistics support.

They will work alongside Haiti’s military and police to fight gangs that control 80% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Jamaica had pledged a total of 170 soldiers and 30 police officers, but Prime Minister Andrew Holness said it wasn’t possible to deploy them all at once.

This comes as the US warned that the mission lacks resources and said it is considering a UN peacekeeping mission to secure more money and personnel.

2. Taifa Leo

Controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie insulted his followers who were murmuring when they were instructed to deny their children food so they would die, while he claimed that he would ascend to heaven, the court has been informed.

A witness who was in Shakahola forest during the incident said that many parents found it difficult to kill their children by depriving them of food.

“Mackenzie held a meeting where he announced that the fast should begin with the children. After the meeting, some followers started to grumble, saying it was hard for a parent to kill their own child while watching, but Mackenzie called them fools,” he told Senior Magistrate Alex Ithuku.

He went on to say that Mackenzie explained to the parents who were complaining that killing was stabbing someone with a knife or strangling them to death, but denying a child food until they died was love, as the child would go to heaven.

He said Mackenzie advised his followers by quoting the Bible, where Jesus Christ told his disciples that anyone who loves their life would hate it for His sake (Jesus).

3. Daily Nation

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on September 13 released fresh details about the three men who were mysteriously gunned down on September 9 in Mutoho village.

The three were shot dead by men riding in two cars during a 9 pm incident that the National Police Service (NPS) is still investigating.

The killings come amid a national outcry over police officers suspected of involvement in extrajudicial killings, abductions, and enforced disappearances.

"We have now unearthed crucial details about the three Mutoho victims, including their names and where they stayed. After their next of kin came forward to identify the bodies, we can now reveal that the victims were Francis Maingi Mwaura, 39, Michael Kimando Maina, 36, and Kennedy Mwaura Mwangi, 27," Murang'a South DCI boss John Kanda said on Friday.

He added that all three were residents of Kiandutu Estate, on the outskirts of Thika town in Kiambu, and "coincidentally, all were wanted men by security for their criminal characters."

"We have assembled crucial evidence that all had several robbery with violence and grievous harm cases. On the material day when they met their deaths, they were on a mission to commit felonies," said Mr. Kanda.

He appeared to blame the Judiciary for the trio's deaths, stating that although they had been in custody, they were released on suspicious or lenient terms.

4. The Saturday Standard

The paper reported that three minors perished, and property of unknown value was destroyed following a fire incident at Nyakairu village in Naivasha.

During the midnight incident, their mother managed to rescue one minor, but the others were burnt beyond recognition.

Emotions ran high as relatives and neighbours struggled to come to terms with the loss of the minors, aged six, four, and two.

According to a neighbour, Julius Kariuki, the fire started on one side of the house, and strong winds, along with a lack of water, hampered rescue efforts.

Kariuki mentioned that area residents managed to break into one side of the house and retrieve one minor, but unfortunately, the child had already died due to the intensity of the fire.

Naivasha East MCA Stanley Karanja called for investigations into the incident, describing it as a painful loss for the family and the community.

He emphasized that nothing, including arson, should be ruled out, noting that the rising cases of fire incidents in the country are worrying.

"We are still mourning the loss of over 20 students in Endarasha, another two in Heni, and now three in Nyakairu. This is now too much," Karanja said.

Another neighbour, Lillian Njambi, recounted how they were forced to watch helplessly from a distance due to the intensity of the fire.

"We tried using soil to put out the fire, but it was impossible as the three minors perished in the house," she said tearfully.

A relative, Josiah Kariuki, added that the father of the minors, who is a casual labourer, was not present when the incident occurred.

Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke

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