Two Dead in Machakos After Domestic Dispute Turns Deadly
Police arrived at the scene to find that members of the public had already taken revenge, killing the man by beating him to death.
The man attacked the woman with a sharp object, stabbing her deeply in the neck, killing her instantly. Photo/courtesy.
By Ruth Sang
The police in Machakos County are investigating a deadly incident that killed two people following a vicious battle suspected to have been triggered by a domestic dispute. The double tragedy occurred on Monday afternoon in Mwanyani village, two kilometres from Machakos town along the Machakos–Kitui road.
According to police reports, the woman, who was middle-aged, was attacked by a man believed to have known her. The man attacked the woman with a sharp object, stabbing her deeply in the neck, killing her instantly. The attack took place in broad daylight as the woman was supposedly on her way to work.
Angry witnesses to the savage murder took matters into their own hands and attacked the perpetrator just minutes later. Police arrived at the scene to find that members of the public had already taken revenge, killing the man by beating him to death. His body was found a few metres from where the woman had collapsed.
Confirming the incident, Machakos Sub-County DCIO Nzioka Singi informed police that two knives and a panga suspected to have been used to attack the woman were recovered. “We received a distress call about a murder in Mwanyani. Officers found the lifeless body of a woman identified as Susan Nyaboke. Preliminary investigations indicate she was attacked while reporting to work.”. The suspect, who lacked identification documents, was also found dead a short distance away,” stated Singi.
He also reported that initial investigations suggest a possible domestic connection between the two, with reports suggesting that they may have had a child together. Police, however, are still gathering information to determine the exact details that led to the deadly fight.
One of the local bodaboda officials, Allan Musembi, who was among the first individuals at the site of mob justice, said he found the woman’s body on the roadside and that of the suspect a few meters away. Musembi described the scene as horrific and that the two fatalities were avoidable had the authorities moved on time.
The two bodies were subsequently transported to the Machakos Level 5 Hospital mortuary for post-mortems as investigations continue.
Authorities have since called on members of the public not to take the law into their own hands, noting that such cases of mob justice only serve to make investigations harder and lead to the loss of even more lives. The police have also asked for calm as they seek to reconstruct the events that led to the fatal confrontation.
About Author
