New Details On Kandara Arson Attack: Detectives Suspect Cultism And Revenge

Malice, vandalism, an attempt to cover up another crime, and mental illness are among the other issues being investigated (pyromania).

Mary Wangui, 60, and her three daughters Cecilia Gathoni, 30, Lucy Mumbi, 18, and Margaret Wanja, 15 were killed in a fire that was set purposely while they were sleeping. Gathoni's two children, Jackline Wambui, 7, and Alvin Kiarie, 3, were also killed in the fire.

Detectives had requested Kandara Senior Resident Magistrate Eric Mutunga to keep her in custody for another 21 days on April 11. On May 3, she will be arraigned and her case will be discussed.

Detectives now believe the family estate, estimated at Sh2.3 billion, lies at the heart of the polygamous family's tremendous hatred, which includes 21 siblings.

Wangui had been accused of taking her phone by the suspect around the time of the suspected arson incident. She, in turn, had accused the suspect of taking her inheritance papers.

"She is believed to be a member of a suspicious faith, with flawed temperaments, and who kept on threatening Ms Wangui and the children who died in the arson attack," the sleuths say in profiling the suspect, who the report describes as "carrying 95 percent of suspected culpability."

In order to determine whether she was in her right mind when the arson was committed, the detectives say they will rely on the mandatory mental test that all capital crime suspects must undergo.

According to the investigators, post-mortem examinations of the bodies will provide more information about the crime.

 "Post-mortems will give us more ground to know if the deceased were first attacked, clobbered or any other primary form [of attack] before they were found dead in the fire. This will give us a clear picture on whether there was a singular attacker or plural," the DCI report reads.

 The family members have not yet set a burial date for the departed.