In Kenya, police are investigating the death of a 33-year-old woman and her five-year-old son in a house fire that destroyed an apartment in Masaka City last weekend where it is indicated that the victim’s husband was responsible for the fire.

Bushirah Zaina Baguwemu and her five-year-old son, Muhammad Magezi Junior died on March 20, 2021 after fire broke out in their rented apartment on a four-storied building located along Herbert Street, Bata Cell in Masaka City.

Police allege that Muhammad Magezi Senior set the apartment on fire after killing his wife and son following a bitter argument.

According to police, by the time the couple’s two-bedroomed  apartment went into flames, there were four people inside the  house; the deceased, Magezi senior and his 14-year –old daughter-in-law who survived unhurt.

Mr Muhammad Nsubuga, the southern region police spokesperson, said their preliminary investigations indicate that Magezi killed his wife and son before he set the apartment on fire to cover up the crime.

“We have received intelligence information that the couple had misunderstandings for a long time prior to the weekend fire incident. We have arrested the husband on charges of murder and his file has been taken to the Director Public Prosecution (DPP) for   legal guidance before he is arraigned in court,” Mr Nsubuga said on Thursday

Neighbors said Baguwemu returned last December from Saudi Arabia where she was working and that she had just joined the husband in their rented apartment.

“The catalyst for this alleged murder was the wife’s discovery that the husband had an affair with his daughter-in-law at the time she was on Kyeyo in Saudi Arabia. They [couple] used to fight at night and it is unfortunate that such a disagreement ended the life of the wife and son,” one of the neighbours who asked not to be named in this story told this reporter.