Kiambu Man Who Set Himself Ablaze In Mombasa Has Died, Had 80% Burns

• The man was identified as Robert Gituhu from Kirangari area in Kiambu county with the family saying that he had been diagnosed with mental illness
• Gituhu was an engineering graduate from the University of Eldoret and had regularly complained of lack of employment after graduating in 2021
• According to the details from Coast General Hospital, Gituhu suffered 80% burns and succumbed on Friday, August 17

A youthful man that was captured on camera setting himself ablaze in Mombasa has passed on.

Man sets himself ablaze in Mombasa

The man who has been identified as Robert Gituhu, 27, a resident of Kirangari village in Kiambu tried hurt himself near the Coast Bus Offices in Mombasa Central Business District.

TUKO.co.ke established that the deceased was a graduate of mechanical engineering from the University of Eldoret in Uasin Gishu county.

Gituhu's uncle Samson Gituhu told TUKO.co.ke that his nephew was missing for about three days before the incident that led to the loss of his life.

"He has been missing for about three days and we were looking for him. We even posted a missing person alert on Facebook," said Samson.

Unemployment in Kenya

The uncle further disclosed that his nephew had been diagnosed with mental illness, a problem that he developed while he was studying.

"He was also frustrated by the lack of employment after he studied hard and graduated. He used to regularly complain about the lack of a job. He was a learned young man who graduated in 2021. He loved his books so much and studied a lot. It is sad that it had to end this way," the uncle said.

His family said it was not the first time the deceased went missing, explaining that several other times he disappeared they were able to find him.

"He first went missing on December 8, 2022 which was one year after his graduation. This year he again went missing and we reported the matter to Kirangari Police Station and we had not gotten any feedback only to find out that he was the man who set himself on fire," Samson added.

Mental Health awareness in Kenya

According to the family, their son was walking around with a Kenyan flag and was speaking against police brutality.

His uncle said they were planning to transport the body of the deceased back to Kiambu and commence burial plans.

Haki Africa human rights activist Mathias Shipeta urged the government to give more attention to mental health and have a proactive plan of rescuing those who are in the streets by taking them to hospital.

"All mentally ill people should be admitted to rehabilitation centres to help them recover fully. It is saddening to see such a young Kenyan die because there are no elaborate plans to address the situation," said Shipeta.

Shipeta also called on authorities to go after a man who was seen urging the deceased to set himself ablaze in a video that has gone viral.

"When you keenly watch the video you will point out a man in a white shirt close to the deceased. He was the one who gave him matchbox and petrol to burn himself. He aided the action," Shipeta argued.

80% burns survival rate

Firefighting officer Issa Mohammed told TUKO.co.ke that the man had suffered 60% burns thus deep wounds.

"I helped him out of the fire using a fire extinguisher we got from Coast Bus company. He was wailing in pain and made some statements about election results," the rescuer said.

Details from Coast General Hospital however, indicated that the deceased had suffered 80% burns and succumbed on Friday, August 18.