Mysterious fires leave family in Mwatate sleeping in the open

Mr Dennis Mbela displays some of the clothes which were burnt after a mysterious fire broke out in his house in Ngulu Village in Mwatate Sub-County, Taita Taveta County. PHOTO | LUCY MKANYIKA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Among the injured was a 12-year-old boy who was burnt on his left leg.

  • Property including mattresses, clothes, utensils, seats and other household items were burnt.

  • The family has now been forced to depend on well-wishers for food and clothing.

Two family members were injured in a fire incident that occurred under mysterious circumstances in Ngulu Village in Mwatate Sub-County, Taita Taveta County.

According to the family and villagers, what started as stones being thrown on the roof of their house has turned out to be a dangerous and mysterious happening which they cannot unravel.

The family has been experiencing mysterious fires which break out in their bedrooms and destroy property. 

Among the injured was a 12-year-old boy who was burnt on his left leg while sleeping on Wednesday.

Shocked residents of Ngulu Village in Mwatate Sub-County, Taita Taveta County on January 17, 2018 look at matrasses which were burnt by a mysterious fire. PHOTO | LUCY MKANYIKA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

MATTRESS BURNS

“He was sleeping on a mattress and it mysteriously went up in flames. We don’t know the cause of the fire,” said his cousin, Dennis Mbela. 

The fires which break out at different intervals have forced the family to be sleeping in the open. 

When Nation visited the home on Wednesday, the family was seated outside the house with some relatives, friends and neighbours who had come to witness the mysterious happening. 

Property including mattresses, clothes, utensils, seats and other household items were burnt by the fire which started on Sunday last week. 

WELL-WISHERS

The family has now been forced to depend on well-wishers for food and clothing. 

Narrating their ordeal, the family said stones started falling on their roof on Christmas but they could not tell where they were coming from. 

“I checked around the house to see who had thrown the stones but I did not see anyone in the vicinity so I thought maybe it was children playing. The following day the same thing happened so I reported the matter to the chief,” said the owner of the house, Mr Mbela. 

Mr Mbela said though they tried keeping guard at the house to see who was throwing the stones, they did not see anyone. 

“I called pastors who came and prayed for us. I repaired the roof and left for work on January 2, 2018,” he said. 

Mr Mbela is a teacher at Mngama Primary School in Mwatate.

Some of the items burnt by a mysterious fire in the home of Dennis Mbela in Ngulu Village in Mwatate Sub-County, Taita Taveta County. PHOTO | LUCY MKANYIKA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

SITUATION WORSE

“After a few days my wife called informing me that the situation had become worse. So I requested for an off and came home,” he said.

He said the situation worsened when one evening he went inside his house only to find his clothes on fire. 

He said he thought his children had initiated the fire and they managed to put it off using water. 

However, he said what surprised them most was that the fire would start mysteriously and burn important items in the house. 

His wife Sylvia Kale, who was in shock, said she had never come across such an experience in her life. 

She said she was forced to let her mother take her children with her because they were traumatised. 

CAN'T SLEEP

Her grandmother and aunt are also counting losses after the mysterious fire destroyed everything in their house a few metres away. 

“We cannot sleep because we fear the mysterious fire will burst out anytime. We have discovered that the fires are not natural but were being initiated by mystical powers,” said Mbela’s aunt, Elfridah Mbela. 

Ms Mbela asked for help from well-wishers as all their food and clothes had been burnt down. 

“I am a teacher at a nearby school but I cannot go to work because of this situation. No one can explain the cause of the fire. We are all baffled,” she said. 

The family has now sought divine intervention from pastors. 

They have been holding prayers in the hope that the mysterious fires will stop.