Shock as wave of domestic violence hits Ongata Rongai

Residents of Ongata Rongai in Kajiado County have raised concerns following a spate of crimes in the area.

This follows the killing of five children in a space of one week in domestic violence cases.

On June 4, a man and his two children were murdered in cold blood by unknown assailants in what is suspected to be a case of domestic violence. The father's body was found dumped at Maasai Lodge while the bodies of his children were found in the house.

According to relatives, the wife moved out a day after the man returned from Qatar. The woman is suspected to have carried out the heinous act.

According to Mzee Paul Lagat, the father of the deceased man, unknown people killed his son Amos Kirwa and his two children Elizabeth Chepkurui, eight, and Kiprotich Lagat, 5.

Details from Kirwa's passport show that he travelled to Qatar on December 4, last year, in search of greener pastures. He separated from his wife a day after returning to the country on May 12, 2023.

Lagat says Kirwa and his wife Deborah Cherop had marital differences and he believes his son's lack of employment may have led to their separation.

According to Lagat, his grandchildren would visit their father during weekends since they have moved out with their mother to a nearby estate.

Police arrested Cherop and she has since been charged with the murder of her husband and children.

Investigators sought to hold her for more days to conclude the investigation.

Post-mortem examination reports of the 31-year-old and his children show that they died as a result of bleeding after their throats were slit.

Domestic squabble

Barely a week later, two children aged 6 and 2 were found dead from multiple stab wounds in their rented home, just a few metres from where the first incident occurred.

Their mother attempted to commit suicide by slitting her throat.

The children's father, according to residents, is said to have called for help from neighbours but no one came out to assist.

According to a neighbour who wished to remain anonymous, the man had multiple stab wounds.

Both were taken to Sinai Hospital and later referred to Kenyatta National Hospital in critical condition, according to Kajiado North Police Commander Hussein Abduba.

Neighbours said an argument between Christine Karimi and her husband Rodgers Andere escalated after he arrived home late.

Paul Isaboke, the caretaker of the plot where the couple lived, told The Nairobian that he heard a commotion in the early hours of the morning before the husband was heard crying for help.

"I rushed to see what was happening, only to find the two minors lying in a pool of blood," said Isamboke.

Ongata Rongai residents are now calling for speedy investigations into the incidents.

"We have had many incidents in this area, domestic violence cases are on the rise," said Benard Kisoso.

In a separate incident, also in Rongai, a five-year-old school girl was sexually abused by schoolmates.The girl told her mother that several Grade Three pupils had been sexually assaulting her every evening on her way home from school.