Police in Makueni County launched investigations after a small child-sized coffin containing banana stems was abandoned at the entrance of an elderly woman’s homestead in a bizarre incident that residents described as a bad omen.
The incident was reported on Tuesday at Mbuvo Police Post in Kathonzweni Sub-County after a village manager alerted authorities.
According to police, the coffin was discovered by 66-year-old woman, as she swept the compound of her home.
The child-sized coffin had been placed along the pathway leading into her homestead and contained three pieces of banana stems.
A village manager reported the incident to police prompting officers from the National Police Service (NPS) to visit the scene.
By the time officers arrived, a large crowd of residents had gathered and had already set the empty coffin on fire, saying they believed it symbolized a bad omen for the family.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and scenes of crime personnel documented and processed the scene before launching investigations.
Police are investigating who abandoned the coffin and the motive behind the unusual act. No arrests have been made.
The team investigating the saga said those behind the same had a motive.
