A wedding party in Oyoun, Kuwait became the site of one of the country’s worst tragedies on August 15, 2009. What was supposed to be a happy celebration turned into a nightmare when a massive fire killed 57 people and hurt around 90 others in just a few minutes.
The groom, 36-year-old Zayed Zafira, was getting married to his second wife that day. In Kuwait, men are allowed to marry more than one woman. His first wife, 23-year-old Nasra Yussef Mohammad al-Enezi, was not at the party. She and Zayed had gotten married when she was still a teenager, and they had two kids together who both had disabilities. The wedding followed traditional rules where men and women celebrate separately, so all the women and children were in a big tent near the groom’s family house.
Police reports and people who were there say Nasra came to the wedding tent with petrol that she bought at a gas station, as per WikiPedia. Her maid saw Nasra pouring the fuel around the tent and then running away right before the fire started. The tent only had one way out and did not follow basic fire safety rules, which turned it into a trap. The heat inside got so bad that it reached over 500 degrees Celsius.
But what made her do something so terrible?
Police caught Nasra the next day, and at first she admitted to starting the fire. She told them she wanted to get back at her husband for marrying someone new and at his sisters for ruining her life. But she said she only wanted to mess up the party, not hurt anyone. When her trial started in October 2009, Nasra said she did not do it. She claimed the police forced her to confess by threatening her.
Most of the people who died were women and kids, including some from Saudi Arabia and people without citizenship. A lot of the bodies were so badly burned that doctors had to use DNA tests and dental records to figure out who they were. The new bride was not in the tent when it happened and got away safely.
In November 2009, the judge ordered doctors to check Nasra’s mental health after her lawyers said she had problems since she was a child. Like in other shocking cases where people’s behavior revealed disturbing secrets, the court wanted to know if her mind played a part in what happened.
Later on, Nasra changed what she said again. This time she told the court she poured special cursed water on the tent as part of a magic spell, not petrol. She also said she was pregnant in jail but lost her baby after someone working at the prison, who was related to her husband, made her take pills.
Even with all these different stories, the court found her guilty in March 2010 of planning to murder 57 people and setting the fire on purpose. They gave her the death sentence.
This was a big deal because it was the first time Kuwait’s top court said yes to killing a woman as punishment. After trying to appeal for years, Nasra was hanged at Central Prison on January 25, 2017, when she was 26 years old.
Six other people were also killed by the government that same day. This case became one of many chilling true crime stories that have left people shocked around the world. After what happened, Kuwait made a new law banning wedding tents because they were too dangerous.
