Man burns himself to death following a quarrel with wife

An elderly man committed suicide by burning himself following a row with his wife in Mai Mahiu, Naivasha.

The man allegedly locked himself in the family’s house in Governor Village and doused the house with petrol before setting himself ablaze.

Efforts by neighbours to break into the house were thwarted by the intensity of the fire.

Two weeks ago, the man attempted to commit suicide but was rescued by a neighbour who cut off a rope that he had tried to hang himself with.

An elder, Samson Muigai, said the man parted with his wife two years ago.

He remarried three months ago but fell out with his second wife who fled the house before he took his life.

The woman fled to a neighbour’s homestead where she said that her life was in danger.

Elsewhere, a six-year-old boy died and scores of others were injured when a matatu landed in a ditch along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.

During the midday accident near Kayole Trading Centre in Naivasha, 15 passengers were injured, eight of them seriously.

The driver of the matatu that was heading to Nakuru from Nairobi lost control of the vehicle as he tried to overtake a fleet of vehicles before landing in the ditch.

A witness, Peter Kuria, said the matatu was speeding and nearly hit some pedestrians.

“After overtaking several cars, the vehicle hit a bump before veering off the road,” he said.

Naivasha OCPD Benjamin Boen confirmed the incident.