Man hacks father to death in Nyeri following a family dispute

panga
panga

What you need to know:

  • After the attack, the elderly man was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
  • Police said  the suspect had been arrested and would be arraigned on Monday.

A man has hacked and killed his 84-year-old father in Tetu, Nyeri County following a family dispute.

On Sunday morning, Mr Kiragu Wambugu, said to be in his thirties, allegedly attacked his father, Joseph Wambugu, with a machete at his doorstep following an argument that started on Saturday night.

According to a relative, the two had protracted disputes for years that have been turning violent.

Mr Boniface Ndugo, the dead man’s brother, told the Nation that the dispute between the father and son was about the latter’s behaviour.

“They have been fighting for a long time over the son’s behaviour. Last night they had an argument and this morning the young man waylaid his father by his doorstep. He attacked him with a machete,” Mr Ndugo said.

DIED IN HOSPITAL

After the attack, the elderly man was rushed to Nyeri County Referral Hospital where he succumbed to the injuries.

Nyeri County Police Commander Adiel Nyange confirmed the incident, saying that the suspect had been arrested and would be arraigned on Monday.

The incident at a time when police are trying to unravel the motive behind a double homicide and suicide that was reported in Kiamwathi village in Nyeri town last week.

Two women were slashed to death, reportedly by a farmhand who eventually committed suicide in his employer’s homestead.

Preliminary findings show that one of the women was killed using a machete inside the farmhand’s kitchen in what appears to be a premeditated attack.

DEEP CUTS

The woman, who hails from Tetu, suffered deep cuts in the head and back, an indication that she was attacked from behind by her killer.

About 20 metres from the first scene, another woman was killed in a similar gruesome manner where the killer slit her throat while she carried a six-month-old baby on her back. The baby was spared and rescued by locals.

Police believe the farmhand, identified as Eric Muriithi, was behind the two murders.

He had been working at the homestead for slightly over a year and lived alone throughout that period.

The motive behind the bloody killings remain unresolved.