Two women have died at a rental house in Sikwadhi market, Ndhiwa constituency after being electrocuted while they were washing clothes on Monday.
The deceased are Roseline Akinyi, aged 29 years and Judith Achieng Ochiel, 28.
Both were living at the trading centre and were enagaging in personal business.
Neighbours said the women were washing clothes when the incident occurred.
One of the cloth lines is said to have been in contact with a live electric wire.
Roseline was electrocuted as she was hanging wet clothes on the line.
“Roseline was the first to die. Achieng went to rescue Roseline after she fell down without knowing she would also be electrocuted,” a resident said.
The case was first reported to the Magina police post for investigations.
Homa Bay County Police Commander Hassan Barua said their preliminary investigations have revealed that the landlord had allegedly engaged in illegal power connections.
He said further investigations into the incident are ongoing. The officer said all the connections should be approved by Kenya Power before people start using them.
“Let residents who wish to connect electricity to their houses use the correct channel which involves application to Kenya Power. We don’t want people to lose their lives in that manner,” Barua said.
