Three Children Killed in Gas Cylinder Fire at Siaya Home

 Three children have died after a newly purchased gas cylinder reportedly exploded and sparked a fire at a homestead in Mahoma Village, Gem Sub-County, Siaya County.

The incident occurred on Monday, September 21, 2026, according to police. Officers responded to the scene at the home of Fidel Odhiambo Agutu, a teacher at St Mary's Yala National School.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the mother of one of the victims had purchased a new 13-kilogramme gas cylinder from an unknown manufacturer. She was reportedly preparing a meal in the house alongside her three-year-old daughter and two children from a neighbouring family when she lit the cylinder, which allegedly erupted into flames.

Amid the panic, the woman ran outside calling for help, while the three children reportedly fled into a bedroom as the fire rapidly spread through the house. Neighbours who responded to the distress call were unable to contain the blaze in time, and the children were trapped inside, sustaining fatal burns.

The victims were identified as Maryreta Odhiambo, 3; Maxwell Omondi Ochieng, 7, a Grade One pupil at Kararwo Pro School; and John Omondi, 12, a Grade Seven pupil at Kagilo Primary School. Maxwell and John were from the neighbouring family.

Household property of an as-yet undetermined value was also destroyed in the fire. Crime Scene Investigation officers processed the scene before the bodies were taken to Yala Level IV Hospital mortuary, where they are being preserved pending postmortem examinations and DNA testing to aid identification.

**Nine-Year-Old Boy Dies From Burns Sustained in Separate Homa Bay Fire**

In a separate incident, a nine-year-old boy who suffered severe burns in a house fire in Homa Bay County has died while undergoing treatment in Kisii.

The boy succumbed to his injuries on Monday morning while receiving specialised care at Chiromo Hospital in Kisii. Police said he had sustained burns covering roughly 70 percent of his body during a fire at his family home on September 17, 2026. He was initially treated at Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital before being transferred to Kisii for specialised care.

Following his death, his body was returned to Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary. Police said a postmortem was conducted on his body alongside that of his sister, who also died as a result of the same fire.