Girlfriend burns KQ pilot with battery acid

Lucy Kivali, charged with splashing acid on KQ pilot’s face in the dock at the Makadara law courts…PKEMOI NG’ENOH.

A Kenya Airways pilot was burnt with acid by his lover who claimed he is a “serial cheat.”

Simon Namiti suffered serious burns to his face after his girlfriend poured one litre of car battery acid worth Sh80 on him.

His girlfriend, Lucy Kivali, admitted at a fully-packed court in Makadara on August 11 that she attacked the 25-year-old pilot on May 26 at Tassia estate in Embakasi. The 26-year-old woman told the court she attacked the young pilot of the national carrier because she was stressed.

She claimed she had learnt that Namiti was a serial cheat. Her boyfriend, Namiti, told the police that their argument started when Kivali arrived from their upcountry home around 9pm on May 26.

He was with his friends at the time and Kivali wanted him to see them off by 10pm.

“When my friends left, she asked me about a voice mail she had received on her phone, claiming she heard some female voices in the background,” Namiti said in his statement.

During the confrontation, the pilot said she told Kivali she was free to end their relationship. He claimed he promised to support her financially if she decided to leave.

The court heard that the young woman then asked Namiti to give her time to see the house for the last time before leaving for good.

Police say she later splashed acid on the unsuspecting boyfriend’s face.

When the fluid started burning him, the young man ran to a tap to wash away the acid with water while screaming for help, police said.

His girlfriend did not offer any help, according to court statements, but just stood in their living room holding a knife. When Namiti approached him, she allegedly aimed the knife at his neck, but he quickly grabbed her hand, pushed her outside through the door, before locking himself in the house.

Neighbours who heard the commotion ran to the house. The neighbours took the pilot to a hospital in South B. His girlfriend, who was still in the vicinity, allegedly told the neighbours she wanted to “finish him” because he had cheated on her with “tens of girlfriends”.

The pilot had to undergo specialised treatment because of serious burns to his face and right eye. He was discharged from the hospital on June 15, when he went to the police to report the matter.

“It’s true that I splashed him on the face with 80-shilling acid because he cheated on me, and slept with tens of women while I was away,” Kivali told court.

Kivali was taking a plea after she was charged with causing grievous harm. But the court freed her on Sh50, 000 cash bail. The case will be mentioned on August 2.

The couple will then decide whether to continue with the case or drop it since the pilot was expected to fully recover in a few days.