Kirinyaga man hacks wife to death, burns her body

Residents of Kithima village in Kirinyaga County are reeling in shock following an incident where a man hacked his wife to death and then set her body ablaze.

The victim, Charity Wangui, 37, is said to have died on the spot after her husband allegedly chopped off her hands on Sunday evening.

According to the witnesses, the man picked up a quarrel with his wife over unknown reasons. The quarrel degenerated into a physical fight and it was then that the man took a panga and slashed Ms Wangui to death before he threw her body into a timber house and torched it.

“We are still shocked over the fatal attack," one of the residents, Newton Kariuki, said.

Mr Kariuki, who is also a member of Nyumba Kumi, said that he heard screams while on his way home and rushed to the scene, only to find the woman dead inside the burnt building.

"The smoke was emanating from the house while the body of the victim lay there. Upon enquiring what was happening, I was told that the man set ablaze his house while his slain wife was inside. The two had a bitter quarrel before a fight which left Wangui dead," he said.

Suspect arrested

Following the brutal attack, police swung into action and arrested the suspect and locked him up at Kianyaga Police Station for questioning.

A senior detective, Millicent Ochuka, said investigations into the matter and been commenced.

“We would like to know why the assailant killed his wife," she said.

Ms Ochuka said the suspect will face a murder charge after investigations are complete.

Ngariama MCA Erastus Ireri condemned the incident and told the police to get to the bottom of the matter.

He said the couple had two children who luckily were absent when the incident happened.

Mr Ireri regretted over the high number of domestic violence cases in his ward as barely a week ago, a sub-chiefs met his death in a fight with his wife.

He advised couples to resolve their disputes amicably rather than taking the law into their own hands.

“If you are experiencing difficulties in your marriage, the solution is not to take the law into your own hands by killing your partner. Look for ways you can resolve your differences,” he advised.

Late last week, Gichugu MP Gichimu Githinji pledged to organise public awareness forums where counselling experts will offer the very much needed emotional support to his constituents