Man sets ablaze his estranged wife at her workplace over marital dispute

By MURIMI MWANGI

Nyeri, Kenya: A woman is fighting for her life at a Nyeri Hospital after her estranged husband poured petrol on her and set her ablaze following a marital dispute.

A second woman who attempted to rescue the burning woman is also nursing serious injuries after the man stabbed her with a knife.    

Leah Wanjiru, a secretary at Tetu Aberdares Water and Sanitation Company, sustained serious burns on her face after her estranged husband Timothy King’angi set her ablaze.

Wanjiru had just reported to work at the company’s premises in Kamakwa, Nyeri County when the husband stormed the office armed with a knife and petrol in plastic soda bottles.

Before pouring the petrol on the wife’s face and clothes, King’ang’i drunk one bottle of the petrol.

King’angi, who blocked the office entrance, also stabbed a woman who had rushed to rescue Wanjiru when she heard her writhing and screaming in pain.

Other workers rushed to the office and wrestled him down and snatched the knife from him, and extinguished the fire.

Wanjiru and her stabbed colleague identified as Christine Wairimu, who is also an internal auditor in the company, were rushed to the nearby Outspan Hospital where they are still admitted.

Police speedily arrived at the scene and rescued King’ang’i from an angry mob that wanted to lynch him.

Speaking to the press from the cabin of the police vehicle, the man said his sworn intention was to kill the wife then commit suicide.

He further alleged that Wanjiru who was his “first love” and whom he had sired a daughter named after his mother had made life a living hell after he lost his job at a Nyeri hospital where he worked as a night guard.

He claimed that Wanjiru after separating with him had ruined two of his subsequent marriages.

“She stormed my home and chased away the women claiming that she will never let me live with another woman. She has made my life hard and I do not want another woman in my life,” he said.

A day earlier, King’angi who had travelled from Nakuru, where he works as a hawker-cum-night guard, visited Wanjiru’s parents seeking a reconciliation with her.

However, when he visited Wanjiru at her rental apartment, she refused to open the door for him.

An angry King’ara rushed to Nyeri Town and bought petrol. He waited till morning when the estranged reported at work.

“I loved her because she was my first wife and even when we had disagreements, I let her have her way. But she became a nuisance because she would not get back permanently with me, and ruined all my other marriages,” said King’ang’i.

He was remanded at the Nyeri Central Police Station, awaiting to be arraigned in court on Monday.