- Magdaline Wangeci, a 49-year-old Kenyan woman living in the UK, was caught on CCTV trying to set fire to her neighbour’s house
- The video showed him lighting and throwing lit matches towards the front door of Jennifer Young’s home, in what prosecutors described as a “revenge attack”.
- The details show that Wangeci’s action was the result of a long period of hostility between him and the neighbor
A quiet residential area in Ashford was rocked by a dangerous incident in the middle of the night that could have ended in tragedy, a court heard.
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In the early hours of the morning as the family slept in their home on Kings Avenue, a doorbell camera caught the former nurse trying to start a fire in the house.
What did the CCTV cameras capture?
The video showed Magdaline Wangeci, 49, throwing lit matches at the front door of her neighbor, Jennifer Young.
During the trial, prosecutors described the incident as a “revenge attack” following a period of hostility between the two women.
Luck — and the weather — intervened, however. The heavy rain that night had soaked the door mat, and so the matches went out before the fire could start.
There was no damage or injuries, but the possible consequences were serious, despite Wangeci’s lack of a previous criminal record.
How many matches did Wangeci light?
Prosecutor Neil Sweeney told Folkestone Magistrates’ Court that Wangeci arrived at the house with an open mind.
“He lit three matches and threw them towards the front door,” he said. “Mrs. Young and her family were sleeping in the house. The matches landed on the doormat which was wet, and the fire was avoided. There would have been a great deal of damage and a great risk of injury.”
Wangeci was arrested and charged with attempted arson, and pleaded guilty at his first court appearance later that month.
He returned to court on January 14 for sentencing after the probation officers’ reports were prepared.
The court heard that Wangeci has mental health problems including bipolar disorder and is on medication.
What was Wangeci’s state of mind?
A probation officer said he had previously been admitted to St Martin’s Hospital for 28 days when his mental health deteriorated.
Defending her, Nigel Numas described a picture of a weak woman under great stress.
He told the court that Wangeci used to work as a nurse, has about £30,000 in debt, survived an abusive marriage, and is estranged from his daughter.
He added that he hopes to travel to Kenya for surgery due to long NHS queues, warning that without the surgery he may end up using a wheelchair. Explaining his action, Numas said:
“He said he wanted to show them the fire because of what they did to him. It’s a thought process that stems from his mental health condition; it doesn’t fit with normal thinking. There was no trigger for the fire. It was not normal thinking.”
The court’s decision in the Wangeci case
Magistrates recognized the seriousness of the offence, noting that attempted arson could lead to an automatic prison sentence.
However, they considered his previous good behavior and early admission of guilt. He was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
The court also imposed a five-year restraining order, preventing him from contacting Ms Young or approaching her home, and ordered him to pay £85 in court costs.
For one family in Ashford, a rain-soaked doormat and an attentive doorbell camera made the difference between a scary incident and a potentially life-changing disaster.
A Kenyan nurse was arrested in the United States
This comes two months after another Kenyan woman was arrested in the United States for allegedly using someone else’s documents to treat critically ill patients in hospice facilities.
Christine Nyambura Muturi was hired by Northern Arizona Hospice in Cottonwood after using fake credentials of another woman.
Her deception was discovered after it was discovered that the nursing license she claimed to have was issued before she was even born.
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