Village in shock after man murders sister over Sh2,000 monthly stipend for the elderly

Nanyuki,

Tuesday, January 16, 2024

KNA by Muturi Mwangi

Residents of Male village, Tigithi location in Laikipia County are in shock following the brutal murder of a 49-year-old woman by her younger brother on Saturday.

The deceased, Rebecca Muthoni, was hit with a hammer on the head following a quarrel over Sh2,000 the Government doles out to the family for the upkeep of their ailing mother.

After the assault that left her badly injured, Muthoni was rushed to Naromoru Level Four Hospital where she died while undergoing treatment.

Tigithi location chief Wilson Thuo confirmed the incident and said the suspect, Joseph Gitahi aged 45 later surrendered to the Matanya Police Station where he is locked up pending his arraignment in court to face murder charges.

“I was told by a relative that the assailant had bludgeoned his sister to death and after committing the heinous act, he went straight to report at Matanya police station where he was immediately arrested,” confirmed Thuo.

Thuo said the assailant, who is the caregiver to his mother, attacked his sister after she questioned the whereabouts of the Sh2,000 he had collected on behalf of their mother, being the Government monthly payout for the elderly under the Inua Jamii Programme.

The administrator urged the government to find alternatives ways for the elderly to receive their upkeep token without their children's involvement.

Sources say Muthoni had been summoned by the elderly woman who complained that Gitahi who has been collecting the money was misusing it on alcohol and drugs hence she had opted for the younger sister to be collecting on her behalf. The assailant overheard their conversation and confronted the sister, hitting her with a hammer.

Narrating the fateful ordeal, the mother of the deceased Mary Wahito, a widow, said she watched helplessly as her son threatened to kill his sister and later executed the threat when he rushed for a hammer and hit her on the head.

“He had kept on threatening us including his brothers but we never thought he would do such a thing. I was desperate since there was nothing I could do or any place to hide because this is my home. I was left by my husband after he passed on,” said the mother.

Residents described the assailant who is 45 and unmarried as a troublemaker in the village who is addicted to alcohol and narcotics. At the same time, residents condemned the incident which they attributed to the rampant drug and substance abuse in the area, and called on the government to intervene.

The suspect who lived with his 81-year-old mother, was a casual laborer and had offered to collect the cash transfer monthly stipend on behalf of her since she is ailing.

Peter Mwangi, now the widower following the brutal murder of his wife, said that in the past, there was a fight over who should have collected the cash for their mother, however, they disagreed after the assailant became unruly. The deceased Muthoni was a mother of four.

The elderly woman and other members of the family asked the Government to ensure their wayward kin gets a life imprisonment warning that they would not accept him back in case he is released.

The suspect appeared before a Nanyuki court on Monday but did not plead to murder charges after DCI officers asked for more time to enable a postmortem and mental assessment to be carried out.

Courtesy; KNA