Man hacked to death in Nyeri, wife injured in land dispute
What you need to know:
- Mathira West OCPD David Kemboi said the suspect was a jailbird.
- The residents of Chieni have blamed the police for the murder.
A 70-year-old man was murdered Monday morning in his house in Chieni Location, Nyeri County over what appears to be a land dispute.
The murder comes barely a week after his wife, Esther Gitonga, was allegedly attacked by the same murder suspect.
Peter Gitonga was in the kitchen warming water for his wife to take her morning medicine when the suspect walked in and confronted him.
According to Mrs Gitonga, she heard commotion in the kitchen and went to find out what was going on only to find the suspect holding a panga and with her husband on the floor.
She managed to run into her bedroom, locked the door and raised the alarm amid attempts by the suspect to gain access to the room.
“When I walked into the kitchen I found Ngari holding a panga and my husband lay on the floor bleeding.
“I ran into my room and locked it but he was insisting that I open the door. That was when my neighbours came and he ran away,” she said.
Mrs Gitonga said that the suspect had attacked her on Monday last week but was not arrested.
She sustained serious injuries on the head and broke her arm in the incident and had just been discharged on Saturday from Mathari Mission Hospital.
HAD BEEN RELEASED
Confirming the incident, Mathira West OCPD David Kemboi said the suspect was a jailbird and had been released three times after complainants withdrew cases lodged against him.
He told journalists that the suspect had cut the deceased several times on the head and neck with a sharp object in the 6.30am incident.
He said the police were in pursuit of the suspect and would make an arrest soon.
“We are in pursuit of the suspect; we will not rest until he is in police custody,” he said.
The residents of Chieni have blamed the police for the murder saying that they had failed to take action after the first attack and had allowed the suspect to walk freely.
They accused the area sub-chief of intimidating those who went forward with information concerning insecurity in the area.
