The nine family members who perished in a suspected arson attack in Ugunja, Siaya County were laid to rest yesterday (Friday).

The man, his wife, and their seven children were asleep when their house was set ablaze by unknown individuals on April 23 this year in Sigomere village, Siaya County.

The nine were interred in a mass grave at their home in Upanda village within Sigomere sub-location.

The prime suspect behind a tragic arson attack, Christopher Okello Owino, aged 56, has since been arrested.

He was apprehended on April 24 at Kianda area in Kibra, Nairobi. He had reportedly gone into hiding after learning that detectives were pursuing him.

According to authorities, detectives received a tip-off about Owino’s presence in the area just hours after the horrific fire incident in Sigomere that wiped out an entire family.

Residents who knew Owino raised suspicions after he informed them he had travelled to his rural home on the night of the incident.

The key suspect was transferred back to Ugunja, where the crime occurred, for further interrogation and prosecution.

Owino’s wife was also arrested in Sigomere, Migori County, after police recovered an oil can believed to have been used to set the blaze. 

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Detectives have also confiscated the suspect’s phones for forensic analysis as part of efforts to identify and arrest possible accomplices.

Sources close to the investigation revealed that Owino allegedly hired a group of associates and travelled with them to Upanda village in the early morning hours to commit the crime before returning to Nairobi.