Angry residents beat Nyahururu man who burnt his two-year-old son with iron rod
What you need to know:
- The suspect, who is said to be an alcoholic and a bhang smoker, was then taken to Nyahururu Police Station where is being held.
- Nyandarua North OCPD Timon Odingo confirmed that the man was in police custody.
- The police boss said police were waiting for the doctor’s examination report before arraigning the suspect in court.
- He condemned the incident and urged the locals to be reporting cases of child abuse promptly to avoid more suffering for the victims.
A man burnt his two-year-old son with a hot iron rod and allegedly attempted to chop off the child’s genitals in an incident that has shocked Nyahururu residents.
Mr Samuel Gachara Wachege, 34, was almost lynched by irate residents of the sprawling Maina slums in the outskirts of Nyahururu Town upon learning of the child’s abuse.
The child is nursing serious burns wounds at the Nyahururu County Referral Hospital, Laikipia County where he was admitted following the incident.
Concerned about what they said had become constant assault of the child, residents of Maina slums ganged up and attacked the man, beating him up before frog-marching him to an Administration Police camp where they handed him over to police.
The suspect, who is said to be an alcoholic and a bhang smoker, was then taken to Nyahururu Police Station where is being held.
Police officers, nurses, villagers and patients who saw the child were shocked upon seeing the injuries and scars spread all over his body.
ABUSED FOR A LONG TIME
A doctor at the Nyahururu hospital said that that it appeared that the child had been abused by his father for a long time as some wounds on her body were almost healed.
“It appears the child had been assaulted for quite some time as the wounds attest. We are still examining him to determine his condition,” said the doctor.
Nyandarua North OCPD Timon Odingo confirmed that the man was in police custody.
Mr Odingo said police were investigating claims that the man had been sexually molesting the child.
“There are reports that the suspect has been sexually assaulting the child as he had injuries on his private parts. He separated with his wife who returned to her maternal home,” he said.
The police boss said police were waiting for the doctor’s examination report before arraigning the suspect in court.
He condemned the incident and urged the locals to be reporting cases of child abuse promptly to avoid more suffering for the victims.
“I am appealing to the members of the public to be reporting such cases to the authorities to save our children and our future.
“The child was being molested for a long time and nobody reported the matter to us,” said the police boss, who maintained that children had a right to be protected from any harm.
