Grief and disbelief have gripped residents of Mukithi village in Kiaga sub-location, Kirinyaga Central Constituency, after a 60-year-old man allegedly killed his wife and fled the scene.
The suspect, identified as Patrick Manegene, reportedly walked to the home of his wife’s aunt, Lydiah Wakaria, about 500 metres away, and confessed to killing his 43-year-old wife, Rose Njeri. Wakaria said she accompanied Manegene back to the scene, where she found Njeri’s lifeless body lying in their incomplete house.
“I could not believe it,” Wakaria told reporters. “He showed me where he had left Njeri, then vanished without a trace. I immediately alerted the village elder, Caesar Karumba Karani.”
Kiaga Assistant Chief Simon Maina and detectives from Kerugoya Police Station responded to the incident. According to officers at the scene, the body of the deceased bore serious injuries to the neck and right leg, suggesting a violent attack.
“We are treating the husband as the main suspect, and a manhunt is already underway,” a police officer from Kagumo Police Station said. “We urge the public to remain calm and not take the law into their own hands.”
Family members and villagers say the couple had a history of domestic disputes. “They often fought at night,” said the deceased’s brother, Joseph Muchiri. Concerned residents also expressed alarm at a recent spike in violent crimes. “Just the other day, a man burned down Mukiri’s house after he allegedly killed his friend,” noted Charles Kibara, a villager.
As police intensify the search for Manegene, the community is left grappling with shock and sorrow over yet another life lost to domestic violence.
Written By Rodney Mbua
