By Mandere Onyinkwa
Rows of coffins lined with flowers stood before grieving villagers in Nyamakoroto, Nyamira County, as mourners gathered on Friday to bury four members of the same family.
Tears flowed freely as relatives, friends and neighbours confronted the reality of lives cut short in the most brutal way.
The victims; Maryanne Makini, her infant child, and her parents died in a suspected arson attack on 23 August when their home was set ablaze during the night.
Residents said the incident was one of the darkest moments the village had ever witnessed.
The tragedy left behind only one survivor, a Grade Six girl, who managed to escape the flames.
The child told neighbours she had lost everything and now depended entirely on well-wishers.
Community members described her as traumatised but clinging to life with remarkable courage.
Police investigators reported that petrol containers were discovered at the scene and indicated that the house appeared to have been locked from outside before the fire began.
Locals explained that two other girls sleeping in an adjacent structure survived after escaping attackers who allegedly pursued them.
At the funeral service, leaders said Maryanne had returned home from her workplace in eastern Kenya only days earlier, not knowing that her visit would end in tragedy.
Community elders urged the government to act swiftly, arguing that justice was the only way to heal wounds inflicted on the village.
Villagers appealed to the public to extend assistance, saying the girl had been left with nothing after the inferno.
As the coffins were lowered into the ground, mourners spoke of a home that had turned into a tomb and of a night that would remain etched in the memory of Nyamakoroto.
