Man kills wife, child before surrendering to police

A man has killed his wife and child in Mombasa before surrendering himself to the police.

Richard Matiko surrendered to Nyali police station after he killed his wife and a young child at Shauri Yako village in Nyali on the night of September 25.

A police report indicates that he dumped the child’s body in a pit latrine and tried to do the same for his wife’s body, but he failed because it was too heavy.

The police took the two bodies to the Coast General Hospital mortuary.

“After the incident, the suspect allegedly placed the body of the child in a pit latrine. He allegedly attempted to dispose of the wife’s body in the same manner but was unable to do so due to its weight,” said the police report.

Police said the killings happened after a domestic conflict. Police said they have launched an investigation into the attack.

A 14-year-old boy managed to escape the scene with serious injuries.  The teenager claimed he survived the attack by his foster father after he escaped.

The Grade 9 boy was rushed to Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital by a well-wisher.

Rapid response officer at the Muslim for Human Rights (Muhuri), Francis Auma, decried an increase in gender-based violence cases and attributed it to economic pressures.

“There has been a sharp increase in cases of domestic violence because of mental problems brought about partly due to economic pressures. However, there is no justification to kill or harm family members at all, and hence stern action should be taken against culprits,” he said.