Murang'a man kills brother over Sh50 raw matumbo 

Crime Scene

A man in Murang'a is on the run after allegedly killing his brother over Sh50 'matumbo.'

Photo credit: File

A 30-year-old man suspected of murdering his elder brother in Murang'a on Sunday evening over missing Sh50 matumbo is on the run.

Police said the suspect cut his brother in the head with a machete in Ihumbu village.

Their father, Mr Onesmus Nduati, said he responded to a commotion in his homestead and found the two arguing.

"The elder one was saying that his brother had stolen a package of matumbo from him. The accused denied it. The younger one had a panga in his hand... I tried to urge them to stop quarrelling and instead talk the issue out," Mr Nduati said.

The suspect complained that he had bought the matumbo from a nearby shopping centre and placed the meat on a tree trunk at the family home as he answered the call of nature. 

When he came out, he found the meat gone. Because his brother was in the compound, he concluded that he had either stolen the meat or knew where it was.

Their father said the younger son, "who is generally quarrelsome and with an anger as high as Mt Everest, did not want to settle the dispute in peace but attacked his 36-year old brother with the panga”.

Murang'a South sub-county police boss Alexander Shikondi said the 6pm incident was reported at the Maragua Police Station by Mr Nduati.

"We received the report that Moses Mwaura … had been seriously injured by his brother. We were also notified that the murder suspect had escaped and had also taken off with the weapon he had used in the attack," Mr Shikondi said.

Mr Mwaura was pronounced dead upon arrival at Maragua Level Four Hospital and the body was transferred to the Murang'a Level Five Hospital mortuary.

Mr Shikondi said officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had visited the scene.

"We are tracking down the suspect. We are also intending to have an autopsy on the body. We are treating the incident as serious crime of murder," Mr Shikondi said.