By Francis Ontomwa
A man in Butere District, Kakamega County, allegedly killed his one-and-a-half-year-old child and seriously injured another.
The 37-year-old man also attacked his mother Emily Matini as she tried to rescue her grandchildren.
Francis Obongita committed the crime on Sunday evening.
Residents cornered him as he tried to escape and almost lynched him before he was rescued and taken to Butere District Hospital.
Butere OCPD Paul Wanjama said the accused, who at the time of the incident was alone in his house, rounded up his children before attacking them with a machete.
“He thereafter turned on the elderly wo man. She screamed for help attracting residents,” said Wanjama.
Villagers attacked the man before area sub-chief rescued him.
His wife Beatrice was not at home when the incident happened. It is said that the man had cautioned her against going to church, saying he did not believe in God.
Locals allege that the man, a farmer, was known to be mentally unstable and had attacked his mother on different occasions. “We have known him to be a dangerous person all along but we have never thought he could commit an act of this magnitude,” stated Thomas Olando, a neighbour. The man’s three-year-old child and his mother are admitted at Kakamega Provincial Hospital in critical condition. Police are conducting investigations into the incident.
Meanwhile, a gang of three is terrorising residents of Kakamega County. The thieves, allegedly armed with an Ak-47 rifle, are said to have been involved in a spate of robberies targeting motorcycle operators.
Resident said the gang moves around on a motorcycle.
