Guard hacks wife to death for abandoning couple's cow

A night guard reportedly hacked his wife to death using a machete for failing to attend to the family cow.

The suspect later surrendered himself to the police.

The 42-year-old woman died inside her matrimonial home in Kirinyaga Central. Her enraged husband is said to have locked the body inside the house after the 4.30pm killing on Saturday.

The assailant’s mother said the couple had differed and had not been on talking terms for several weeks before the killing.

Trouble started when the victim allegedly deserted her home two weeks ago and left the family cow unattended.

"My son was not pleased when his wife left their home and went back to live with her parents. He was particularly infuriated by the fact that their cow had no one to feed it. I think this was the genesis of the unfortunate incident,” said the woman.

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Parents meeting

The 70-year-old mother recalled how her son and the victim had attended a parents' meeting at their son's school early that day. 

"They had their differences but nothing seemed amiss on the day," she said.

"The couple even waved at me as they rode past my house on a boda boda. Nothing appeared unusual. I am shocked by what has happened," she added.

"About 10 minutes after they returned home, I heard loud screams from my son's house. I later saw a big crowd running towards the house, including many boda boda riders, only for me to learn that my son had killed his wife,” she said.

"Soon after, my son came and casually told me he was on his way to Kerugoya Police Station. It was as if nothing had happened."

Entire family

Initial reports had indicated the guard had killed also killed his three children.

The mother said she was now waiting for word from her son’s in-laws on who would shoulder the burden of burying his wife. The couple's last born is a Standard Five pupil.

The victim's body was taken to the Kerugoya County Hospital mortuary for a postmortem.

According to the man's mother, the boda boda motorcycle the suspect used belonged to him. It was parked at the police station.

Cases of women being killed by their jilted husbands and boyfriends have been rising at an alarming rate

A week ago, a woman was gang-raped and forced to drink what appeared to be acid by her estranged husband.

The man was said to have poured the chemical on the woman, who later died.