Man poisons wife, child before committing suicide over affair

A man poisoned his wife and daughter on August 25, 2016 in Nyandarua County before killing himself over suspicions that his spouse was having an affair with another man. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The man is said to have seen his wife with another man in Nyahururu town on Thursday and found the same man again at his home later in the evening.

  • Neighbours said they heard commotion at his house, rushed there only to find the door locked from inside.

  • When they broke into the house they found his wife and child lying on the ground and his body dangling from the roof.

A man committed suicide on Thursday evening at Kwa-Kibathi Village in Nyandarua County after he found his wife with a man he suspected she was carrying an affair with. 

Mr Daniel Kihara Macharia is said to have assaulted and forced his wife and four-year-old daughter to take poison before killing himself.

The man is said to have seen his wife with another man in Nyahururu town on Thursday and later found the same man in his house when he went home.

Neighbours said they heard commotion in his house and rushed there only to find the door locked from inside.

“I forced myself into the house only to find his wife and child lying on the ground unconscious while his body was dangling from the roof,” said Mr Solomon Maina, a neighbour.

Neighbours rushed the woman and her daughter to the Nyahururu County Referral Hospital where they were admitted. 

According to Mr James Mwangi, a boda boda operator and a friend of the deceased, the man was enraged after he saw his wife with the unidentified man in Nyahururu town because he suspected they were having an affair.

“After spotting his wife with the man, he came to me and told me that he would commit suicide as he cannot live with the shame of seeing his wife sleeping with other men and it [was] better that he dies,” said Mr Mwangi.

The boda boda rider added that “I was very worried because I had never seen my friend in such rage before. I pleaded with him not to do anything that would harm him”.

Mr Mwangi told Nation he urged his friend to calm down since he had planned to meet his wife on the following morning to resolve the issue.

“He obliged and went home and promised me that he will not harm himself,” he noted.On returning home on Thursday evening, the deceased is said to have found his wife in their house with the same man he had seen her with in town.

But the man took off before a quarrel ensued between them.

A relative, Ms Evelyn Wanjiku, said the couple had had domestic problems that led to their separation some months before their re-union.

“The two had a troubled marriage and they were quarreling frequently over unidentified issues. They had even separated for some months before reuniting again and we suspect the incident happened because of the differences,” she said.

Confirming the incident, Ol Jooro Orok OCPD Joseph Cheruiyot said that police have launched investigations on the matter.

The police boss said that the woman and the child are out of danger and would be discharged from the hospital soon.

Mr Cheruiyot advised members of the public to be reporting misunderstandings to police and area chiefs or village elders rather than kill themselves.

The body of the deceased was moved to the Nyahururu County Referral Hospital mortuary.

(Editing by Joel Muinde)