Kenyan comedian and activist Eric Omondi has called on Kenyans to come together to support a mother who tragically lost her three children in a fire incident at Mukuru Kwa Njenga.
The fire, which broke out on Monday night, September 16, 2024, claimed the lives of Mitchell Ikunza (16), Bellamy Chinaida (8), and Delvin Myles (4), leaving their mother, Everline Chibutsa, devastated.
Omondi took to his Instagram page to ask well-wishers to contribute towards giving the children a dignified send-off. He also appealed for professional help, specifically a therapist, to assist Everline in coping with the trauma.
“This woman is not okay. She broke down when she saw her daughter’s clothes and son’s books in the debris. She lost 3 children in a fire in her house at Mukuru Kwa Njenga,” Omondi wrote.
He shared Everline’s phone number, encouraging Kenyans to contribute whatever they could to help with the funeral expenses, which are set for Saturday.
Omondi also expressed his commitment through his initiative ‘Team sisi kwa sisi’ to supporting Everline beyond the burial. He revealed plans to help her rebuild her life, including starting a business for her and securing a new home.
“She lost her 3 children while she was out fending for them. You can only imagine the pain she’s going through. We are going to help her bury her children, open a business for her, and buy her a house here,” he added in a follow-up post.
For those willing to help, donations can be sent directly to Everline Chibutsa through the number provided by Omondi.
“Team SISI KWA SISI Please send whatever you can to her Number 0728172133 ( NAME: Everline Chibutsa),” he added.
The children, who were in Form 2, Grade 2, and Playgroup respectively, were at home when the fire started. Everline was out working to provide for her family at the time of the incident. The fire reportedly began around 7:30 pm.
Fire claims 3 kids
Chibutsa described how her children used to come home for lunch in their small tin-roofed house, which cost her Sh1,800 per month in rent. She mentioned that her eldest daughter would pick up her siblings from school daily. Chibutsa supports her family by selling thrift clothes.
Returning from work, she heard a siren near her home and learned that a fire had engulfed their entire neighbourhood, destroying their homes, a school, and a church.
Despite searching desperately, she couldn’t find her three children. Relatives couldn’t locate them either. Eventually, she discovered that her eldest daughter had perished in the fire, and later, the bodies of her other two children were found badly burned.
Chibutsa appealed to the government and well-meaning Kenyans for financial assistance to bring her children’s bodies back to their rural home in Shinyalu, Western Kenya, for burial. She emphasized her desperate need for support as a single, unemployed mother facing this devastating loss.
“I’m a single mother, jobless and just hustling. I urge the government and Kenyans of goodwill to support me through financial donations to ferry bodies of my three children home for burial rites,” she told the media.
