Police seize woman who killed boyfriend over TV remote

Police have arrested a woman who allegedly stabbed her boyfriend to death in Huruma, Nairobi, after a quarrel over what television programme to watch.

Nairobi County Police Commander Japhet Koome said a 27-year-old woman identified as Caroline stabbed her 25-year-old boyfriend on Tuesday night.

“The two were in their house when a quarrel ensued over who should take the remote control. The woman then took a kitchen knife and stabbed her boyfriend in the lower abdomen and thigh,” Mr Koome said on Wednesday.

The 10 pm attack happened while a soap opera was airing on one channel and a football match on another.

Mr Koome said the victim was rushed to the Huruma Nursing Home, where he succumbed to his injuries.

“We plan to arraign the woman as soon as we are done with the investigations,” Mr Koome said, noting that cases of people killing their spouses have been increasing in the country.

Neighbours who have recorded statements at the Starehe Police Station said they heard the couple quarrel before a commotion ensued.

They said they later heard the man scream, asking the woman why she had stabbed him. This  prompted them to rush into the couple’s house.

“By the time we arrived, the woman had already left and the man was bleeding profusely. We called the police before taking him to hospital,” a neighbour told the police.

The incident comes just three days after a man stabbed his one-and-half-year-old son in the stomach before attempting to kill himself in yet another bizarre incident in Ruaraka, Nairobi.

Mr Emmanuel Ayoyi, 30, was being treated at a hospital in Nairobi under police guard while his son is also fighting for his life in the Intensive Care Unit of the same hospital.

The boy’s mother told the police she quarrelled with her husband before she left for work the previous night. She left the husband and the son in the house and went to a restaurant in Ruaraka where she works as a waitress.

She came back on Sunday morning only to be given the bad news.

Starehe OCPD Alice Kimeli said the man attempted suicide by stabbing himself in the neck but neighbours rescued him and took both to hospital.

REPORT THREATS TO POLICE

On Wednesday, police spokesman George Kinoti asked the public not to ignore threats to life by spouses.

“The rate at which spouses are killing or injuring each other is very disturbing and it is time everyone takes such threats seriously to avert deaths,” Mr Kinoti said.

He said a threat to life is a serious offence and called on those who have been threatened to report to the police.

This will enable police to keep an eye on anyone reported to have issued threats to thwart fatalities, he added.

Last week, in another shocking attack, a woman was reportedly stabbed by her husband in Wajir.

The mother of four had to be flown to Nairobi for surgery to remove the dagger that was lodged in her jaw.

In another incident, a man allegedly killed his girlfriend and left her body in a house in Nyayo Estate, Nairobi.

Neighbours discovered the decomposing body five days later after a foul smell started emanating from the house.

The man was later arrested and is currently facing murder charges.