Woman stabbed by ex-husband now plans funeral of two-year-old daughter
The remains of Ms Elizabeth Munyalo's Honda vehicle at Soweto Police station. The vehicle was torched by her estranged husband Dennis Musyoka on Sunday following a prolonged marital dispute.
What you need to know:
- Ms Munyalo was stabbed by Musyoka four times on the neck and back after meeting him at an open field at Nasra in Embakasi, Nairobi.
- She had brought their daughter Kelsey Mutheu, who was two and a half years old, to spend time with her father.
- Musyoka stabbed his ex-wife four times on her neck before setting himself and their daughter on fire.
As Ms Elizabeth Munyalo awaits the results of a CT scan to show the extent of the injuries sustained in the stabbings inflicted on her by her ex-husband Dennis Musyoka on Sunday, she is planning the post-mortem and burial of their daughter Kelsey Mutheu, who died after the attack.
Ms Munyalo was stabbed by Musyoka four times on the neck and back after meeting him at an open field at Nasra in Embakasi, Nairobi.
She had brought their daughter Kelsey Mutheu, who was two-and-a-half years old, to spend time with her father.
Police said Musyoka entered the car with a bag, from which he immediately removed a knife and stabbed his ex-wife four times on the left side of her neck before setting himself and their daughter on fire.
Musyoka died in the vehicle as passers-by rushed Ms Munyalo and her daughter to Mama Lucy Hospital.
On Monday, the mother of one was discharged from the hospital as Kelsey was transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment.
Succumbed to injuries
She, however, succumbed to her injuries, and her body was taken to Kenyatta National Hospital Mortuary.
The results of the post-mortem are needed as evidence in the inquest into the tragedy that almost wiped out an entire family, and which came after a prolonged marital conflict.
Her car, a Honda Vezel was severely damaged.
On Saturday, neighbours of Musyoka said they saw him receiving fuel from a boda boda rider outside his one-bedroom flat’s gate in Sosian estate, Embakasi.
“It appears like his actions were pre-meditated. On Saturday, he sent boda boda guys to buy for him fuel worth Sh800, which he stored in the house and used in the arson attack,” one of his neighbours told the Nation.
Musyoka was a businessman who imported and sold car tyres with an outlet at Caltex on Kangundo road.
According to witnesses, the couple had been living together until last year when they separated due to constant wrangles.
They had, however, made arrangements for their daughter to visit her father on Sundays.
Last Sunday, the meeting happened at an open field between houses in Nasra, at the entrance to Amani Court.
Ms Munyalo and her daughter arrived in the car. A few minutes later, her ex-husband was seen walking to the vehicle on foot with a bag strapped to his back. He entered the car and sat in the back.
Inside the bag, Musyoka had hidden a pen knife -- which he used to stab his estranged wife -- and the fuel he bought the day before, in a five-litre jar, which he poured into the vehicle and set it ablaze.
CCTV camera footage from a building nearby shows Ms Munyalo parking her car at the location at 11:30 am.
Shortly thereafter, she was seen jumping out of the car while screaming for help.
As a stranger attended to her, onlookers saw the car go up in flames. They ran over and tried to put out the fire and save Musyoka and Kelsey.
“The man stabbed the lady four times on the left part of the neck but the lady managed to jump out of the vehicle and was rescued by good Samaritans,” a police report stated, adding that the man then set himself on fire in the vehicle together with his daughter.
A partially burnt jerrycan suspected to have contained petrol and a pen knife was found in the car's back seat, which was towed to Soweto Police Station in Kayole.
Kayole Sub County Criminal Investigations Officer Jackson Owino said: “Since the suspect is now dead, the only thing we can do now is gather evidence for an inquest into the tragedy. This will include the statement from the wife who is still recuperating in hospital.”
