Meru: husband hits, kills wife after bitter confrontation
By Collins Osanya
Police in Meru, Igembe North Sub-County have launched investigations into a murder probe in which a marital scuffle between Stanley Kirimi and his wife Phelomena Kagwira escalated into the death of the 38-year-old woman.
According to Julius Miriti, the landlord of the couple and eye witness, the deceased tried to run away from her angry husband during the bitter confrontation when he threw a metal rod at her, hitting and seriously injuring Phelomena on the head.
Miriti who reported the tragic incident at Laare police station under OB number OB 29/12/4/2021 on Monday, 12 April said the Phelomena was rushed to Nyambane District Hospital where she was announced dead on arrival.
The body of the deceased lies at Nyambene District Hospital mortuary awaiting postmortem.
Confirming the incident, officers drawn from DCI Igembe North and Laare police station visited the scene of the crime and recovered a two-meter-long metal rod which is believed to be the murder weapon.
Kirimi, the husband of the deceased and the chief murder suspect was arrested and is in police custody pending investigation.
In a separate incident, the body of a man in Longonot, Naivasha was found hanging from the roof of his three-roomed house in what detectives described as suicide linked to marital disagreements.
Kevin Nduati, not his real name, was last seen on the evening of Saturday, April 10 around the shopping centre at Longonot area before his wife stumbled into his lifeless body.
Speaking to People Daily, Amos Kamau who is a neighbor to the deceased said the couple had on various occasions fallen out over the deceased’s excessive drinking.
“Their family has a troubled history due to the deceased drinking habits and we never thought the father of three could end up committing suicide,” Kmau said.
Naivasha OCPD Samuel Waweru confirmed the sad incident adding that the police had already launched investigations into the matter.
In the recent past, cases of gender-based violence (GBV) have been on the rise with Kenyans raising awareness on how best to deal with the matter.
A study by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed that 23.6 percent of Kenyans have witnessed or heard cases of domestic violence in their communities since the introduction of COVID-19 containment measures.
The national GBV Hotline 1195 received 810 cases in September (as of 29 September 2020) compared to 646 cases in August, an increase of 25 percent. All cases received psychosocial first aid (PFA) and referral services.
