Man who gouged out woman’s eye nabbed after victim’s plea to Haji, Kinoti
Stella Mwende, the victim.
What you need to know:
- The suspect, Victor Odhiambo, was arrested Wednesday early morning in Kochia Sub County, Homa Bay by detectives from Mombasa.
- To Ms Mwende, the suspect was just a regular customer but Mr Odhiambo had been harbouring other intentions as he wanted her to be his lover.
After a year of searching, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) have finally arrested a man who allegedly gouged out a woman's eye in Mombasa in 2018.
The suspect, Victor Odhiambo, was arrested Wednesday early morning in Kochia Sub County, Homa Bay by detectives from Mombasa.
"The suspect is being transported to Mombasa from Homa Bay. We knew he would run but wouldn’t hide forever. Our officers tracked him down early in the morning," Mombasa DCI boss Anthony Muriithi told Nation on phone.
This is the second time that Mr Odhiambo is getting arrested.
Early last year, he was nabbed and arraigned at the Mombasa court for assaulting Ms Stella Mwende.
The suspect was, however, released after the prosecution withdrew his case claiming that police officers did not produce his file on the day the case went for hearing.
"The law doesn't favour anyone. I told you this man will be brought to book and we have done as promised," Mr Muriithi said on Wednesday.
Causing grievous harm
Mr Odhiambo had been charged with causing grievous harm and wounding Ms Mwende after she allegedly spurned him. He was freed on May 30, 2019.
He had been tracked to Nairobi and taken to Mombasa.
The latest arrest was ordered by the Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji and Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti after their visit to Kisauni, Mombasa last year.
The victim had raised the issue with both Mr Haji and Mr Kinoti and pleaded for justice after the man went for almost a year without being arrested. He is alleged to have attacked her and gouged out her right eye on December 15, 2018.
The incident, according to Ms Mwende, happened when Mr Odhiambo visited her home in Ganjoni, Mombasa.
The Director of Criminal investigations (DCI) George Kinoti and Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji during the groundbreaking event for the construction of the Anti-terror Police Unit (ATPU) Headquarters in Mombasa at the Coast Region Police Headquarters on April 25, 2019.
He also slashed her face, leaving her with a permanent scar.
Mr Odhiambo, a scrap metal dealer, is said to have been a regular customer of Ms Mwende’s roadside food kiosk, where the two first met.
To Ms Mwende, the suspect was just a regular customer but Mr Odhiambo had been harbouring other intentions: He wanted her to be his lover.
“He had been asking me to be in a relationship with him but I had turned down his requests on several occasions. I had told him that I was like his mother but he persisted,” said Ms Mwende, in a past interview with the Nation.
On December 12, two days before the brutal attack, Ms Mwende had been looking for a person to help her put up a temporary shade at her eatery.
Mr Odhiambo offered to help and brought a machete to dig up the ground where the structure would be erected.
Promised to come back
“He did not finish the job that day and he had promised to come back. But he did not show up and asked me to safeguard his panga," she said.
On the fateful day, a visibly drunk Mr Odhiambo went to take back his machete from Ms Mwende. That is when the attack happened.
After the attack, Ms Mwende reported the incident at the Central Police Station, Mombasa under OB number 88/17/12/2018.
She spent a week at the Coast General Hospital nursing her injuries.
