Changamwe man hangs self after failed attempt to kill wife

A pregnant woman is nursing serious stab wounds at Coast Provincial General Hospital (CPGH) in Mombasa following a botched murder by her husband.

Twenty four-year-old Susan Atieno is three months pregnant.

The man, 28-year-old Daniel Okello, took his own life after trying to kill his wife in a bizarre incident that stunned their neighbours at Sisi kwa Sisi in Changamwe.

She was stabbed four times in the chest, and other parts of her body, during the attack at about 1am on Tuesday.

SHOCK

When the Nation visited Ms Atieno at the hospital for an interview, she could not speak but doctors said tests confirmed the baby was alive.

She appeared shocked, likely because the man was the father of the child and because the foetus survived the vicious attack.

Neighbours said that a few minutes after they responded to Ms Atieno's cries for help, her husband's body was found hanging from a tree metres from their house.

Police reports stated the man fled from the house as his wife screamed for help then committed suicide.

NO SIGNS

Neighbours said the two were in a good mood for the better part of Monday so they were shocked when they learned of the incident.

Ms Shamsa Rajab further noted that the couple had hosted guests that evening and that their room was "full of activities”.

She said everything seemed alright before Mr Okello went inside their house to sleep.

“At around 11pm we were with the wife at the veranda conversing about our children’s welfare in school. She did not complain about anything to do with her marriage,” said

“We did not see any signs of misunderstandings between them,” the woman said.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Mr Okello’s sister, Jane Otieno, said she went to his one-room house after a neighbour called and found a pool of blood.

Ms Otieno said her brother, who had been working as a metalsmith, had attended the burial of their father in Nyanza.

“While at home, he did not show any signs that his marriage was not faring well. We still don’t know what could have caused him to kill his wife and commit suicide” she said.

Changamwe divisional police commander Peter Omanwa said investigations were launched.

“We understand that this is purely a domestic violence matter. The only person who will tell us the motive is the wife. We are waiting for her to be in a stable condition so that we can get to the bottom of this,” he said.