Man held after wife is killed

A man suspected of killing his pregnant wife in Gankere village in Imenti North has been arrested.

The body of Poly Kathambi, 25, was found in the family’s home yesterday morning. A neighbour said she found the couple’s three-year-old son lying next to his mother’s body.

The suspected killer evaded irate villagers to avoid being lynched, but later surrendered to the Nchiru Police Station.

Witnesses said the couple’s two-year marriage was marked by domestic squabbles.

Depressed

“He was a perpetual drunkard and used to sell chang’aa to the youth. This put him at loggerheads with his wife,” said Mischeck Kaburu, a relative to the suspect.

Kathambi was a teacher at Palmrose Academy in Imenti North.

School manager Mary Kiumbe told The Standard Kathambi had been depressed for long due to the family squabbles and that they had taken her for counseling several times.

Kiumbe said the school had lost a committed teacher.

“She is the same age as my children. l used to engage her whenever she had stress. Last week, she had told me she was four months pregnant, but was disturbed that her husband beat her whenever he came home drunk.”

A neighbour said they suspected the attacker might have raped the teacher before killing her.

Kathambi had bruises on the forehead, and police said they suspected the teacher died after she was hit by a blunt object at close range. They said they were investigating the killing.

Illegal breweries

Locals who thronged the scene blamed the killing on the proliferation of illegal breweries in the neighbourhood.

Chief James Mutethia was booed by villagers when he arrived at the scene, with the residents accusing him of doing little to eradicate consumption of illicit brew and abuse of drugs.

The chief, however, refused to address the media over the matter.

Rael Murithi, a community leader, said cases of families breaking up were on the increase due to consumption of alcohol.

“The Government should treat this issue with seriousness because some of the children have dropped out of schools because their drunkard parents cannot pay fees. Most of the men here spend their time and money in illicit brew dens,” Murithi said.