Woman dies after she and her aunt were raped in Nyandarua

The aunt and niece were assaulted and raped on Monday, January 24. [File, Standard]

A 44-year-old woman from Karima, Nyandarua County died on Tuesday morning, January 25, after she and her aunt, 45, were physically assaulted and raped on Monday night.

Police are probing family land dispute link to the crimes.

Kinangop Sub-County Police Commander Edward Kang’ara told The Standard that the two had, earlier Monday, called Ndunyu Njeru Police Station asking for protection, saying they feared they’d be attacked as a family land dispute had escalated.

“The distance between the station and the victims’ home was 20 kilometres. By the time our officers arrived at the pair’s home, the unfortunate attack had happened,” said Kang’ara.

The aunt and niece were allegedly attacked and raped by “several men who are known to them”.

“For a while now, the assailants have been threatening the aunt and niece with violence after the two laid claim to family land which is under dispute. The case was in court,” said a relative of the duo.

Police say they have established leads that would help in tracking down the suspects.

The victims were assaulted, raped and dragged on a murram road for several metres, police said.

One of the victims, the 44-year-old niece, died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Engineer area.