Familicide knows no economic status, community or religion

Dr Dan Mugera.

What you need to know:

  • Neighbours said Pauline Chepkwony might have been depressed.
  • Depression and mental instability, including temporary insanity, are other triggers of familicide.

Early this year, a 46-year-old woman from Keiyo South stabbed her two children to death and then killed herself.

Ms Pauline Chepkwony, a single mother, had been living with her parents.

Neighbours said she might have been depressed.

Depression and mental instability, including temporary insanity, are other triggers of familicide.

In such cases, some people may not intend to go as far as killing. Their intention could be to scare but because of their mental state, they may end up killing.

After realising the gravity of their act, they end up taking their own lives.

Psychologists agree that though such crimes can affect any family irrespective of class, religion or region, those going through a difficult financial crisis, those with a history of violence and abuse and those which lack social and spiritual support are especially vulnerable.

“If as a child a man saw his father beating his mother and verbally abusing her, he will grow up believing that this is normal,” says Dr Dan Mugera, a psychologist.

He warns that this could trigger more violence when conflict arises in a family setting.

HOPELESSNESS

Borrowing from studies by David Wilson, a professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University, another counselling psychologist, Mr Shadrack Kirunga, points out that in many familicide cases, the common trigger is hopelessness.

“If we take Prof Wilson’s argument that hopelessness is the core, then you might place the occurrence of such incidents at the lower economic classes of society,” he says. “This could be true because people in upper echelons have more options of solving their problems due to their financial status. Even in mental or psychological cases, they are likely to get help faster and receive better care.”

At the end of the day though, he cautions, such cases can occur anywhere because the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness can affect anyone.

What does the rise of such cases say about the Kenyan society then?

“The problems of the 21st century are tougher. We have a more pronounced leadership crisis, there is moral degradation to deal with, economic hardship, not to mention that the once strong and intact family fabric is weak and values we once held dear have been destroyed,” says Dr Mugera.

Mr Kirunga concurs and observes that modern families are less close-knit than in the past and live constrained, individual lives which may leave many feeling unvalued or even unwanted.

“The harsh economic conditions and the uncertain political situation mean that people don’t know what to expect tomorrow yet they can do nothing about this helplessness,” he says.