Teacher burnt to death in front of her daughters: Witnesses

What you need to know:

  • The mob barricaded a footpath near the teacher’s home and grabbed her from a moving motorcycle, which was ferrying her and her two daughters to school.
  • The girls were on their way to report to secondary school for first term.
  • The girls watched as their mother was hacked to death and her body set on fire.

A teacher hacked to death and her body set ablaze was attacked in front of her two daughters, witnesses said.

Daisy Mbaluka Mbathe, a teacher at Ndooni Primary School in Kitui, was attacked on Monday by an irate mob allegedly over the school’s poor results in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exam.

DAYLIGHT ATTACK

The mob blocked a village footpath near the teacher’s home in Malalani, Kitui East, and grabbed her from a moving motorcycle, which was ferrying the victim and her two daughters to school.

The girls were on their way to report to secondary school for first term.

The girls watched as their mother was hacked to death and her body burnt.

According to Knut executive secretary in Kitui Simon Nding’o, the mob accused the teacher of practising witchcraft and tormenting their children where she worked.

But detectives are pursuing claims that the teacher was involved in a love triangle that had gone sour and that the poor exam results excuse was just a smokescreen.

Mutito Sub-County police boss Consaga Malasi said investigators are following crucial leads that may lead to the arrest of more suspects, but they were yet to establish the exact motive of the killing.

The school’s headteacher, Dickson Muasya, and other members of his staff have since recorded statements with police regarding the incident.

On Thursday, police were allowed to detain two suspects for 21 days.

The suspects, Wambua Mwangangi and Chris Kyalo Muli, are accused of being part of a mob that ambushed the teacher.

They were arraigned before Kitui Resident Magistrate Felistus Nekesa, who granted police permission to detain the suspects at Mutitu Police Station, pending conclusion of investigations into the murder.

The school was closed indefinitely following the incident.