Shock as father, two sons found dead in Makueni

A man is suspected to have butchered his two sons at their Nzeeni home in Makueni county before taking his life.

Area assistant chief Schola Mutuse said it is suspected that Benjamin Muumbe, 50, turned the machete on himself after killing the boys aged 17 and 11 on Sunday night

The 17-year-old was studying at a local polytechnic while the other one was a pupil at Nzeeni Primary School.

"We received reports that the man killed the two by slashing them with a machete before taking poison and slitting his throat," Mutuse told The Standard.

Blood was splattered on the walls of the three-bedroomed house.

"Muumbe works at his brother's farm. He normally reports to work early but on this day he was late and that caught our attention and I decided to check on him. On arrival I called his name but he didn't respond and attempts to call either of his sons was met with silence," said Ann Makato, Muumbie's mother.

Peter Michael, a farm worker, would stumble on three bodies after opening the door. The body of the 17-year-old was lying in a pool of blood adjacent to the main door while the body of the youngest child was in the sitting room. Muumbe's body was found inside his bedroom.

"The boys' bodies bore deep cuts around the neck while their father had taken poison, and as if that was not enough, he slit open his throat with the same weapon he used to commit the crime," said Michael.

Jane Kambua, a relative, said he met Muumbe the previous day and he showed no signs of distress.

"I met him on Saturday and he was jovial. He lived with the two boys happily even after divorcing his wife some years ago," said Kambua.