Kinagop couple in hospital after brutal attack over land
Mr Duncan Waruingi and his wife Rakeli Njeri from Chuma village in Kinangop, Nyandarua County who were attacked and seriously injured by relatives over a land dispute that has been raging for over 20 years. PHOTO | WAIKWA MAINA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The couple was attacked by the husband’s brother, his wife and son.
- Mr Waruingi said that he had gone to rescue his wife Rakeli Njeri when his brother’s family descended on him.
- He said his brother conspired with land officials to have the family’s land documents transferred to his name.
A husband and his wife are nursing injuries at the Kinangop Mission Hospital in Nyandarua County after a brutal attack by some relatives following a land dispute.
The couple was attacked by the husband’s brother, his wife and son.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Mr Duncan Waruingi said that he had gone to rescue his wife Rakeli Njeri when his brother’s family descended on him with crude weapons in Chuma village.
TRAP
Ms Njeri said that her brother-in-law’s wife invited her for a chat on a road leading to her compound, unaware that it was a trap.
“They attacked me with a panga and other crude weapons, accusing me of influencing and inciting my husband against his elder brother's decision to sell the land. He has a buyer for the entire land including the two acres belonging to my husband,” said Ms Njeri.
The husband was attacked when he went to answer to the distress call from his wife.
“I found her on the ground bleeding. They descended on me when I went to defend my wife,” said Mr Waruingi.
His wife sustained deep cuts in the head, the legs and other parts of the body and suffered broken jaws.
CONSPIRACY
Mr Waruingi said his elder brother, George Mwangi, conspired with land officials to have the family’s land documents transferred to his name without his (Waruingi’s) consent.
Mr Mwangi then allocated his younger brother two acres of the family land while retaining nine acres, which he has already sold, including the graves where their parents are buried.
A village elder, Joseph Wainaina, said efforts to reconcile the family have been in vain.
Mr Simon Maina, also a village elder said the family has been engaged in a land dispute for nearly 20 years after the parents died.
“We did not expect [Mwangi] to go to this extent – attacking his brother and wife and leaving them for dead. I was among the first people to arrive at the scene where we gave them first aid before taking them to the hospital,” said Mr Maina.
