Police are searching for a man from Katherene in Meru County who allegedly cut his wife with a machette when she asked for money to take their sick child to the hospital.
The victim’s sister said Kirema launched a brutal attack late afternoon when his wife returned home after calling him to request the money.
“Nobody told us when the incident occurred. It occurred at 3:00 p.m., and we learned about it at 9:00 p.m. We would not have known about it if it hadn’t been for people attempting to contact us,” said the victim’s sister.
“When we learned about the incident, we rushed to the scene and confirmed that it had occurred. We were told that she had been taken to the hospital. When I called a woman who was with her at the hospital, she informed me that they were at the Meru Level 5 hospital’s casualties department.
“When we arrived at the hospital, we saw that he had cut her and was the hospital staff were preparing to stitch her up. He cut her on the head and arms several times, and we wondered if he intended to kill her. Their child is ill, and an x-ray scan was required when she was taken to the hospital.
“She called her husband and asked for money to take the child to the hospital. He insulted her, made derogatory remarks, and asked her to stop bothering and nagging him. The child’s father is financially stable and works as a matatu driver plying the Meru Nairobi route.
“He is known as Kiremi, but we call him Kirema. He is very stable and has money, but all he wants is to make my sister suffer and ruin her life. Together they have one child known as Joy Karimi.
“Since her husband abandoned them, my sister has been faced with the challenge of raising the child alone. My sister built the family home all by herself, and the husband hasn’t given a damn about what they eat since he left.
“She made the decision as a woman to stay at home and guard it, and she did not bother him. Kirema has not been apprehended because he fled and we have not seen him since. We went to look for him at the matatu’s offices, but he wasn’t there and had escaped,” she said.
“I was called at 7:00 p.m. and told what had happened, but I was unable to arrive at the scene at the time. When I arrived on the scene later, I noticed that the incident was unfortunate and sad. People should not fight over a child,” said Mutagari, the victim’s brother.
“He should have taken responsibility when he was told to take the child to the hospital. What happened is wrong in my opinion, and a person who has wronged her should be returned to where she came from. They should have agreed and taken the child to the hospital,” he said.
“He committed an offense when he took the law into his own hands. I appeal to well-wishers to help the child because the mother is unable to assist her after her husband cut her and fled. The child remains ill,” he said.
“When I saw him with a machette, I asked him what he planned to do with it. He told me he was going to give it to his wife. I had no idea it would be used to cut his wife and learned about the incident after it occurred. He did not confess the incident to me, but before fleeing, he stated that he had completed his task,” said the suspect’s father.
