I killed my 'mchawi' mother after she tried passing her powers to me,"- Mombasa man

A Mombasa man is in court for allegedly killing his mother.

Joseph Kiora, 22, allegedly killed his 60 year old mother Elizabeth Syango and assaulted his younger brother, Muyoki Syango, 16 at the Dongo Kundu area of Mombasa on September 21, last year.

He has been in police custody till last month when a psychiatrist declared him mentally fit to stand trial.

When he appeared before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Susan Shitubi, Kiora who has no lawyer pleaded guilty to the charges but later changed his plea claiming he never intended to kill her.

“I am sorry, it was not my intention to kill my own mother,” said Kiora.

According to police statements, Kiora alleged that problems between him and his mother started when she went to his house in Dongo Kundu and allegedly tried to exhort him to inherit her witchcraft powers.

When he declined, the mother became agitated, stripped in front of him, plucked her pubic hair and threw it at Kiora, who went for a machete and struck her dead.

But according to statements from other members, Kiora who worked at a quarry in Temboni, was not himself prior to the death of their mother.

Kiora’s elder sister Mary Katheni said all the same, their mother loved her son very much and never gave up on him. The sisters say they will forgive him but they want the law to take its course.