Horror as Kitengela woman is burned to death in suspected crime of passion
A 23-year-old woman was burned beyond recognition in her Kitengela house on Thursday morning, in what was suspected to be a murder by a jilted lover.
Neighbours were woken by heavy smoke emanating from Ms Janet Ndirangu’s bedsitter on the fourth floor of Moonlight Plaza, on Deliverance Church Road in New Valley estate.
Mr Nicholas Omondi, the caretaker of the building, said he had to break into the padlocked house but could not save the woman. He found her body on her bed covered by her clothes. The lights had been switched off. There was a burning six-kilogramme gas cylinder under the bed and the house was messy.
“The house was smoky and dark. When I gained entry, the body was on the bed with her clothes piled over it. It was mysterious,” said Mr Omondi.
He described Ms Ndirangu as a quiet woman who had lived in the building for just three months. She lived alone. Mr Omondi said he did not hear any commotion on Wednesday night.
Witnesses who gained entry into the house told the Nation that the woman’s face was disfigured and they suspected it had been doused with acid. There were also bloodstains under the bed.
“I saw the body. The face was disfigured beyond recognition. I suspect somebody could have killed the lady and placed the body in the bed before leaving,” said one witness.
Ms Evalyn Misa, a beautician who said Ms Ndirangu used to be her client, described her as a jovial person who preferred to keep an Afro hairstyle.
“She was my client. I know she worked in one of the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) companies. It’s unfortunate she has died at such a tender age,” said Ms Misa.
Her close friends said she had a boyfriend who used to visit her. They suspected Ms Ndirangu could have been murdered after a disagreement before the house was set ablaze.
“We know the dreadlocked regular boyfriend who used to visit her. He is a boda boda rider. I saw her yesterday evening. She was jovial and she did not look disturbed,” one of her friends said, adding that she used to have a string of pop-in boyfriends.
Some female onlookers wailed uncontrollably as the body was being taken out to the mortuary.
“Why are men killing us? When you are done with a woman, let her be,” wailed a middle-aged woman.
Police took the body to the Kitengela Sub-County Hospital mortuary. Isinya sub-county police boss Ancent Kaloki said the killing was being investigated, urging the public to stop speculating about it.