- Film director Ken Heman, identified as Kennedy Njau, lost two daughters in a fire that broke out at a fourth-floor apartment in Gachie, Kiambaa
- A third child, aged 3, survived the blaze after neighbours risked their lives to scale the burning building and pull her to safety
- A postmortem has since established the cause of death, and the grieving father is pressing police to get to the bottom of what started the fire
Kennedy Njau, the Kenyan film director known professionally as Ken Heman, has broken his silence following the deaths of his two daughters in a house fire that devastated his family over the weekend.
Source: UGC
The tragedy unfolded on Saturday at around 5pm at an apartment along Kiuna Road in Gachie, Kiambu County, when flames tore through the fourth-floor unit where the children were staying.
The two girls, Tehilla Wambui and Angela Njeri, were unable to reach the balcony in time and perished in the inferno. Their bodies were later taken to Nairobi Funeral Home.
3-year-old sister rescued from balcony
A third sibling, a 3-year-old girl, survived after she made it onto the balcony and was spotted by residents below who raised the alarm.
Teacher Joash Ondieki responded by scaling the outside of the burning building using drainage pipes, with Kevin Bahati supporting the effort from below. Bahati later recalled urging his colleague on, saying:
"Nikaambia Juma usichoke kushika mtoto, mtupe hapa chini." The toddler was eventually lowered to safety using a curtain.
A postmortem examination has since confirmed that Tehilla and Angela died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Father calls for thorough investigation
Njau revealed that the children had been in their mother's care over the weekend as part of a co-parenting arrangement. He recounted what the mother told him about the circumstances leading up to the fire.
"Mama mwenyewe alisema alifungia watoto kwa nyumba... akaenda akiexpect kuna msichana wa kazi atakuja," he said, adding that she left without knowing how the blaze started.
The grieving father is now urging detectives at Kihara Police Station in Kiambaa to leave no stone unturned. He made a heartfelt appeal for accountability, saying:
"Anyone mwenye anaweza anisaidie to get to know the cause of the fire... na hii story isiende like any other story, it should not be like any other story, two innocent lives, mtoto hata mmoja hajaweza kutembea vizuri."
Police investigations are ongoing as the family awaits answers.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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