Couple, two girls killed in cold blood

An elderly man, his wife and two grandchildren were hacked to death and their bodies burnt in their home in Matuga, Kwale County, early on Tuesday.

Neighbours said Mr Suleiman Mwamtsumi, 60, his wife Mwamisi (50) and grandchildren Mwanakombo (seven) and Mwanaisha (nine) were killed by an unknown assailant in the 2am attack on their Mwachome village home.

The couple’s 13-year old daughter survived after she ran out of the house and hid in a nearby bush.

From there she saw the attacker running out of the house with a panga and thereafter pouring a liquid around the house before setting it on fire.

DEEP PANGA CUTS

The Standard Six pupil said she was woken by screams and cries of pain from her mother.

When she rose from her bed, she saw her father’s lifeless body, which had deep panga cuts, near the door.

“I could see a man dressed in black trousers and a blue shirt but I could not recognise him,” she said.

The girl said she ran to a neighbour’s house to seek help but the neighbour was afraid of confronting the attacker.

By the time other neighbours gathered the courage to check what was happening, the attacker had fled and the house was on fire.

Those who spoke to the Nation at the scene said there had been no bad blood between Suleiman and his neighbours and they were shocked by the attack.

“We are horrified to witness such a heartless killing,” said one neighbour who identified himself as Mr Kabia Suleiman.

He described Mr Mwamtsumi as a polite and hard-working man who never provoked anyone.

However, some of the neighbours speculated that the attack could have been fuelled by a land dispute.

Police are investigating the attack.

Mr Said Suleiman, the couple’s son, said his father had been involved in a four-year land dispute with a neighbour. He suspected this was the cause of the attack.

He said although the dispute had been resolved, the other family never gave up its claim to the five-acre property that was the subject of the dispute.

“We know those who were involved because they have been threatening our parents all along,” Mr Suleiman said.

He said his parents had complained on several occasions that they were being harassed.

SUBSISTENCE FARMER

Neighbours said the family moved to the village 10 years ago after Mr Mwamtsumi bought land from the locals. He was a subsistence farmer.

Kwale County Governor Salim Mvurya and Women Representative Zainab Chidzuga visited the family and condemned the attack.