A man who killed his three children and wife before setting his house ablaze in Juja on Tuesday had financial problems, new reports indicate.
Patrick Nderitu, worked as a quarry broker. He died in the inferno too.
It was revealed that before the tragic death, Nderitu’s wife Rosemary Kanini had made efforts in securing a loan of about Sh300, 000 for her husband.
A source within the family disclosed that she had approached a close family friend asking for the money.
She explained that her husband needed Sh1 million to supply bricks but had no enough money. The deal was expected to yield a return of Sh4 million.
In another twist, a close friend of the family, Tabitha Njeri said Nderitu and his wife had of late been having marital problems.
Kanini suspected her husband was having another affair. A woman had been calling him often.
She had called Njeri previously and intimated it to her. She also asked her to visit her house for prayers.
However, Njeri could not make it since she was busy.
“Kanini and I believed in prayers. That is why she used to call me whenever she had problems,” she said. “We also did not follow up on her claim that her husband was having another affair because it was just mere suspicion,” Njeri told the press on Tuesday.
Before moving to their new malaba home in Juja, they lived along Kenyatta road in the same area.
Area Chief Muiruri Muchui who was at the scene said the children died as a result of being clobbered with a blunt object on the head.
He said after the fire was put out, the children had visible marks of strangulation and hit-marks on their heads.
The children are Joe Muraga, 7 and four-year-old twins Jeff Mutua and Joy Wangui.
According to the Star, an investigating officer said that Nderitu had first killed his wife in their bedroom before he killed the three children.
He then doused himself in petrol and ignited a fire that consumed his entire house.