Nyeri Catholic church property torched

KENYA: Police in Nyeri are investigating the cause of a huge fire that broke out in a forest owned by the Catholic Church on Sunday.

The fire is said to have started at around 8:30 pm at three different locations in Hill-Farm forest.

A church official told The Standard that they suspect it was the work of arsonists since it was allegedly started simultaneously at the three locations.

“A nun saw the fire break out and set off the alarm. This alerted the Christ the King Major Seminary guards who informed the police and also called the fire department,” said the official.

Nyeri OCPD Charles Rotich said there were no casualties since the fire brigade was able to contain the fire, which was spreading fast on the 10-acre farm due to current dry conditions.

“We appreciate the speed with which the fire fighters from Karatina responded and handled the incident. Things would have been disastrous if it had not been reported on time,” said the church official.

Nyeri County Officer for Special Programmes Beth Karimi, has applauded the Karatina fire brigade and asked residents to call them as soon as a fire breaks out.

“Our biggest challenge as a department is that residents call us when a situation gets out of hand,” noted Ms Karimi.