Family property rows blamed for murders in central Kenya
Central Region Coordinator Wilfred Nyagwanga (right) with other administrators during a county security meeting on March 13, 2019 in Muranga town. Mr Nyagwanga said murder and suicide cases which are rampant in the area are as a result of family conflicts and property rows. PHOTO | NDUNG'U GACHANE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Nyagwanga said most cases are affecting the elderly who are over 70 years of age.
- He instructed the chiefs to change their attitude towards locals and improve on their communication.
- He proposed that the government employs more women chiefs.
New Central Regional Coordinator Wilfred Nyagwanga has attributed the rising cases of murder and suicide that have rocked the region to family conflicts and property rows.
Mr Nyagwanga, who met county security committees and chiefs on Wednesday, directed all chiefs to initiate a campaign to mitigate the deaths by urging locals to subdivide and share out their property in good time.
He said most cases are affecting the elderly who are over 70 years of age, saying that investigations have revealed they are killed or hanged and the incidents made to look like they committed suicide.
'SUICIDES'
“I have received information from county criminal investigations officers that the weight of [some of] the dead can’t even be supported by the trees they are found hanging from. This shows that the grannies and grandfathers are killed and hanged on trees so that it looks like suicide.
“We have further established that some people kill their parents due to property and succession since they see them as stumbling blocks in inheriting their property and our chiefs and assistant chiefs must embark on a serious campaign to sensitise families to subdivide land and property before getting old to prevent these cases,” he told the administration officers at Technology Primary School hall.
The regional boss instructed the chiefs to change their attitude towards locals and improve on their communication, relationship and ability to solve disputes amongst locals so that they may open up and share with them their predicaments.
ILLICIT BREWS
On the war against illicit brews, Mr Nyagwanga acknowledged that some administration officers take bribes but issued a stern warning to chiefs and police officers who receive bribes to frustrate the fight against the brews.
“Some of the OCSs and chiefs are taking bribes to secure those who sell the illicit brews [claiming] that they are paid little wages but they must understand that even the little they get it is got from mama mboga and they must ensure the rule of law is followed,” he said.
He proposed that the government employs more women chiefs to compliment the fight against illicit brew, saying their male counterparts spend more time with concubines even when they are supposed to be fighting the vice in the community.
