Protest over Maragua woman’s killing

Murang’a

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

KNA by: Purity Mugo

Residents of Maragua in Murang’a county on Tuesday held street protests to demand justice for a 32-year-old woman who was reportedly killed by her husband during a domestic feud.

According to the residents, Ann Wanjiku, was allegedly killed by her husband at their home in Mathare village, after the couple picked an argument following a dispute over Sh. 3000 on August 18. 

Preliminary reports into the incident indicated that the suspect later took her body to Maragua police station claiming that he had collected her remains by the roadside.

One of the residents, Virginia Wanjiru, said that Wanjiku, a mother of two and her husband David Kariuki who is a known bhang seller were fighting over the money which was the proceeds from the sales of Bhang.

“Her husband had given her some rolls worth about Sh. 3000 to sell and that is the money they were fighting over,” she said,

Wanjiru claimed that Kariuki had killed her and taken her body to Maragua police station where he reported that he had collected the body of an unknown woman by the roadside.

Their neighbour, Lydia Njoki, said that on Friday night they had heard a commotion as the deceased and her husband fought and they tried to intervene.

“Two of the neighbours even tried to give Kariuki some of the money he wanted from his wife so that he would stop hitting her but he declined.” She said. 

According to Njoki, Kariuki is a known drug peddler who has had many run-ins with law enforcement.

The victim’s brother-in-law, Isaack Kinyanjui, urged police to conduct thorough investigations into the matter and get justice even as the family members prepare to have a postmortem done to establish the cause of death.

The area head of nyumba kumi, Joseph Irungu, urged the responsible authorities to conduct due diligence and ensure justice is served.

He also lamented over fatal cases of domestic violence saying that recently other women had been killed in the area.

“There have been other cases of domestic violence here; One woman was burned alive in her house and the other died while receiving treatment following domestic violence,” he said.

He cautioned residents against domestic violence and urged couples to resolve disputes amicably.

Confirming the incident, Maragua OCPD Jane Kilemi said that the suspect who had taken his dead wife’s body to the police station had claimed that he had collected it by the roadside but he was later arrested by members of the public and taken back to the police station.

Kilemi said that the suspect had already been arraigned in court.

Courtesy ; K. N. A