MP Kabando wa Kabando’s brother arrested over mother’s death

Residents at the home of Rose Wacera who was allegedly killed by her son Ceasar Thiari in Nyeri County, Sunday. [PHOTO: JOB WERU/STANDARD]

NYERI COUNTY: Police are holding an MP's brother after he allegedly slashed their mother to death in Mukurwe-ini sub district of Nyeri County.

Neighbours said Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando wa Kabando's brother Ceaser Thiari, 40, killed 70-year-old Rose Wachera Mwangi at their home in Kaini village. Neighbours said Thiari lived with his mother alone.

A relative, Agnes Njeri, said she heard screams emanating from the compound as she and her friends went home from church at about 2pm, but were soon confronted by the suspect outside the compound forcing them to flee.

"We rushed to the gate, but discovered it was locked. Then, there was silence until the suspect appeared from the gate running towards us, and we had to seek safety at a nearby home," said Ms Njeri.

Njeri claimed the suspect was shouting "ameisha, ameisha (she is gone)" as he left the gate.

The witnesses said after the suspect had disappeared, they went to the elderly woman's compound, and saw her about 10m from the gate with her neck slit and multiple cuts on the hands.

When The Standard arrived at the scene, an hour after the grisly attack, the body was still on site and a blood-stained machete by her side.

Mukurwe-ini deputy County Commissioner Isaac Masinde said the son was arrested about a kilometre away from their home.

Police said immediately after arrest, the suspect said he regretted killing his mother.

"He told us that as he was taking tea, he hallucinated and saw a pack of machetes in front of him, and a voice told him to pick a panga and kill his mother," said a source.

Police said the motive of the attack is unknown but that they were holding Thiari pending investigations and prosecution.

Erastus Maina, a member of the local community policing team,  said the suspect is believed to have been abusing drugs and has attended several rehabilitation sessions.

Besides Thiari and the MP, the deceased was mother to three daughters and another son. Their father died in the 1980s.

The mother's body was taken to the Mukurwe-ini District Hospital Mortuary.