A Dagoretti woman is lucky to be alive after being rescued from her house that had been set ablaze by her son over food.
It is alleged that the young man torched his mother’s house worth Kshs1.3 million after returning home only to find that food was not ready.
The suspect was arrested by the police who received information about the incident and was arraigned in court before Senior Principal Magistrate Esther Bhoke.
“Joseph Njuguna unlawfully and willfully torched his mother’s house on November 6 within Nairobi’s Dagoreti area,” part of the charge sheet read.
The court heard that Njuguna arrived home drunk hoping to find food ready but was disappointed that his mother was still in the process of preparing the meal.
His mother asked him to wait for the food in his room but he complained and vowed to do something about the delay. He later returned and picked a quarrel with his mother before leaving shortly.
After some time, the mother noticed that there was smoke and concluded that her house was on fire. She tried to run for safety only to discover that she had been locked inside the house by the suspect.
She screamed for help and lucky enough, neighbors responded to her call of distress and rescued her.
The suspect went into hiding but was flushed out of his hideout by an agitated mob where he is said to have been drinking alcohol.
The mob descended on him but his mother intervened and rescued him before taking him to a hospital for medical attention.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and was released on a Kshs 500,000 pending mention of the case on November 22.
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