Shock as man kills wife and burns her body after family party

Residents of Murubara village in Kirinyaga County are in shock after a rice hay trader allegedly killed his wife and burnt her body after a family party.

Purity Wanjiku, 28, was burnt beyond recognition in the Monday night incident.

Villagers said the trader had organised a family party and invited friends. The partygoers made merry for hours.

Picked a quarrel

Moments after they left, the man picked a quarrel with his wife over unknown reasons.

He took a knife and stabbed Ms Wanjiku to death in the house that the couple shared with their three children, aged between two and six.

He then set the building on fire in a bid to conceal evidence.

As the house went up in flames, the trader hurriedly left with his children and lied to his neighbours that a gas cylinder had exploded and his wife was burning inside.

The neighbours raised the alarm, attracting scores of villagers, who unsuccessfully tried to put out the fast-spreading fire.

All household goods, including beds and mattresses, were destroyed.

Detectives arrested the trader and on frisking him found a blood-stained knife in a pocket in his trousers.

He was whisked off to the Wang'uru police station, where he was locked up for questioning.

Mwea East sub-county police boss Daniel Kitavi said the man’s motive has not been established.

"We are treating the matter as murder and very soon the suspect will be charged in court," Mr Kitavi said.

The remains were taken to the Kerugoya Referral Hospital mortuary for a postmortem examination.

Mr Kitavi advised feuding parents to talk to each other or seek the services of counsellors.

The woman’s father, Mr Peter Mburu, said he was at home in Kiamanyeki village when he received the sad news.

"When I heard what had happened, I rushed to the scene and I was shocked to see the badly burnt body of my daughter," he said.

Mr Mburu is now crying out for justice.

"What I want is to see the assailant tried in a court of law and jailed," he said.

Another family member, Mr Peter Kinyanjui, said Ms Wambui was killed in a cruel manner by a man she had lived with as husband and wife.

"We never thought our daughter was gone until we saw her remains," said Mr Kinyuanjui, her uncle.

Neighbours described the suspect as a humble man who lived a quiet life.

Conceal evidence

"He never quarreled with anyone and when we heard that he had fatally attacked his wife and attempted to conceal evidence by burning the house, we were taken aback," said Mr Mwangi Kamau

The incident came barely three days after another in which a woman stabbed her husband to death in a domestic dispute in Karucho village, Gichugu constituency.

The suspect later surrendered to police and she is undergoing interrogation.

In another recent incident, a man hacked his wife and son to death before taking his own life in Kiandai village in a suspected love triangle.

The killings have left religious leaders and residents worried.

Since January this year, more than 30 people have been murdered.

Some of the assailants have been arrested and charged with murder in local courts.

Religious leaders blame most of the murders on drug abuse and land disputes.