Police in Kitui County have launched investigations after a Form Four female candidate was stabbed to death by her reported 27-year-old boyfriend in Kitui’s Kisasi area.
According to eye witnesses, trouble started when man visited the 17-year-old Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidate at her home in Kavasya and a quarrel ensued between them.
The man is said to have pulled out a knife from his pocket and stabbed the girl repeatedly until she died. Neighbours responded to the girl’s cry for help but it was too late.
Witnesses further said the suspect also tried to take his own life by stabbing himself repeatedly but the public stopped him.
The suspect who suffered neck and stomach injuries was rushed to Kitui Level IV Hospital for treatment awaiting investigations and arraignment in court.
Police said a bloodstained object believed to be the murder weapon had been recovered from the scene.
In a separate incident, Police officers in Meru County are presently holding a motorist who is said to have stabbed to death a boda boda rider.
The boda boda rider, 25-year-old Ian Mwenda, is said to have been riding from Maua towards Antubochiu market on Monday evening when his cap fell on the road due to the strong winds.
The suspect, George Miriti Kalung’e, who was driving behind the rider, was reportedly enraged when Mwenda stopped his motorcycle on the road to pick up the cap.
A witness told officers from Maua Police Station that Miriti stopped his vehicle and charged at the rider demanding to know why he had stopped on the road and that “if he wanted to be knocked dead.” Mwenda is however said to have, in an attempt to avoid confrontation, gotten back on his motorcycle and headed onwards to his destination.
“But an angry Miriti followed him at high speed and overtook him a few metres ahead. He blocked the rider, came out of his vehicle armed with a knife and suddenly stabbed him,” read a statement from the police.
“The knife tore through Mwenda’s chest from the front left side. He dropped dead on the road. Good Samaritans rushed him to Maua Methodist Hospital but doctors confirmed he had already breathed his last.” A manhunt was immediately launched for the suspect by officers from Maua Police Station who arrested him at Mutuati area.
Cases of homicide resulting in murders and suicides have been on the rise in Kenya in what experts have linked to worsening mental health in the country.
Just last week, a police officer attached to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi’s security team killed his wife, a traffic police officer, before committing suicide.
The officer identified by police as Hudson Wakise is said to have opened fire on his wife after a quarrel over domestic issues at the woman’s house, just outside the GSU camp in Ruaraka.
It is understood that they were living together in the camp until recently when she moved out and rented her own house following a fall-out over family issues.
His wife, Pauline Wakasa, was a police officer attached to the traffic department at Kilimani police station.
There has also been a rise in the number of school-going girls, yet to attain the legal consent age of 18, engaged with older men.
While engaging Kenyans on Twitter on Monday, Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai in response to concerns raised by members of the public, said the National Police Service has a dedicated department to handle the issues of mental health within the service at all times.
“This is already happening, NPS has a dedicated service to handle the issues of mental health within the Police service 24/7. We are encouraging all our officers to take up the services,” the IG said.
Mutyambai urged police officers not to shy away from seeking psychosocial support, but it is not clear whether it is mandatory for them to seek debriefing sessions after a traumatic incident.