Police hunt clergyman who killed his son

The deceased kept screaming and making distress calls but none of the neighbours came since there is bad blood in the neighbourhood. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • An eyewitness, a grandchild of the clergyman, gave a blow-by-blow account of what happened.
  • The suspect's mother was in the homestead when the incident happened.

Police in Murang'a County are looking for a retired Anglican Church of Kenya clergyman who allegedly killed his own son with the assistance of his other son.

The incident took place on Sunday morning when the father and his elder son picked up their kin at home where he was sleeping and tied him to a tree in their homestead and beat him to death.

An eyewitness, a grandchild of the clergyman, gave a blow-by-blow account of what happened, saying the father had on Saturday called his other son and instructed him to report to his home early in the morning for an assignment.

"I overheard my grandfather call my uncle urging him to report early in the morning to assist him with some chores. When he arrived, he was informed that they needed first to discipline my uncle (the deceased). They grabbed him, tied him to a tree and beat him until he died," the witness said.

He said the victim kept screaming and making distress calls but none of the neighbours came since there is bad blood in the neighbourhood.

An eyewitness said father and son decided to ''discipline'' their kin accusing him of stealing farm produce.

The suspect's mother was in the homestead when the incident happened.

"She made desperate efforts to have his father, my grandfather, not kill him. I was also threatened not to go near the scene or else I would be disciplined too. After the incident, I called my parents who live in Nyeri and informed them of the matter," he said.

Locals described the dead man as a peace loving, hardworking and social man.

They said the clergyman retired from service last year after serving as an evangelist with the ACK diocese of Mt Kenya Central.

"The deceased was social but had issues with his father emanating from a land dispute, Mr John Kiiru, a resident, said.