Nine family members died when suspected arsonists set their house on fire at Upanda village in Sigomere ward in Ugunja Sub-County.

In a fit of rage, angry villagers stormed the home of a man suspected to have hired the arsonists and vandalised the houses before setting ablaze.

According to the villagers, Ouma Opondo Adalla, his wife Jacinta Anyango and seven children, among them a form four candidate Loise Auma retired to bed on Tuesday night but were heard wailing while seeking for help shortly after midnight.

Among the first to respond was Sylvester Omondi, an employee of Ouma’s brother whose home is a few metres away. He said that when he arrived at the home, the main house where the family was sleeping was locked from the outside with a padlock.

“I screamed for help for close to 10 minutes while struggling to break the door open but there was no response,” he said. He explained the children who were used to him were calling his name to help them.

Ouma’s brother-in-law, Captain Leonard Joseph Ochieng, said villagers suspected the immediate neighbour of the family to be behind the arson following a protracted land dispute. Capt Ochieng said that the neighbour, identified as Owino, had been given a small portion of land by Ouma’s family in appreciation of his benevolence after he helped them transport the body of Ouma’s brother from Nairobi for burial over two decades ago.

Instead of appreciating the little that he was given, added Capt Ochieng, the neighbour is said to have illegally processed a title deed for the entire land and threatened to evict Ouma’s family. This forced Ouma’s family to seek justice in court and after more than two decades a long legal battle, the court ruled that the neighbour be evicted for illegal settlement and acquisition of the land.

Capt Ochieng said that the neighbour had previously bragged that family dearly should he be evicted from the land.

Sigomere ward Member of the County Assembly Andrew Omwende who joined Upanda residents condemned the incident and called on the government to ensure that justice prevailed. Omwende appealed to residents to remain calm as the government conducted investigations.

A resident, Lenah Mwanzia, who is a board member of Uluthe Secondary School where one of the deceased family members, Loise Auma, was a student termed the incident as bizarre and cruel.  

Acting Siaya County Police Commander Evelyn Kemboi confirmed the incident, saying that the charred remains of the nine have been removed to Ambira Sub-County Hospital.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Philip Onyango