Missing 12-year-old boy found dead with multiple stab wounds and a burnt face

Police are investigating the death of a 12-year-old boy whose decomposing body was discovered five days after he went missing.

The body of the boy, a pupil at Humwend Primary School in Masat in Ugenya, Siaya County, was found in a bush near his home. His face had been burnt and hands chopped off at the wrist.

He had also been stabbed several times in the stomach.

His parents suspect he may have been killed following a quarrel with a schoolmate over a mobile phone.

According to the family, their son had left home at night after doing some household chores to get his mobile phone from a fellow student.

He had been taking the phone to the friend for charging.

"My son went to the home of one of his schoolmates to collect his phone but returned without it. He left again later but never returned," the boy's father, George Omuga, told The Standard.

Mr Omuga said after searching and almost giving up, they found his decomposing body at a nearby bush just next to their compound.

"It hurts and pains my heart to think of how he was brutally murdered. My son was young and innocent; he could not harm anyone. I feel frustrated and want justice for him. We are still in shock as a family and we cannot understand why someone would do this," he said.

The father of the deceased also revealed that initially, before his son went missing, their family house had caught fire and they had reported the matter to the police.

According to Ukwala OCPD Paul Tiriki, they received information from Humwend Primary School head teacher Paul Opondo about the incident and quickly rushed to the scene.

Mr Tiriki, however, dismissed claims that the boy could have been killed by his colleague.