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My son raped his own mother- Kakamega Mzee

  
 Richard Shamala, 75 and inset is his son Seth

A Kakamega man has revealed how his criminal son often raped his (the son’s) mother after a bout of substance abuse. He also reportedly killed his brother for refusing to buy him chang’aa.

Richard Shamala, 75, told The Nairobian that his son, Seth ‘Bonzo’ Shamala, is being held at Kakamega Police Station after being linked to the murder of Agnes Lumusi in Shinyalu, Kakamega County.

The deceased’s private parts were found buried in a sugarcane plantation. Her attackers also slashed her six-year-old son with a machete. The boy was admitted to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret from St Elizabeth Mukumu Hospital in Kakamega. His condition is said to be critical.

Joseph Chebil, the Shinyalu OCPD, said, “Three other men linked to the murder are former prisoners who are suspected to have raped the woman before killing her and slashing her six-year-old son.” He added that they are not ruling out ritual killing, given that the woman’s private parts were mutilated and buried in the plantation. Timothy Shamala, the village head who called police after discovery of the buried body parts agrees with the police.

Seth’s father says he is relieved that his 40-year-old son has been arrested as he “once raped my wife, his own mother.”

The old man further revealed that his son “loves his mother in a wicked way after smoking bhang and often wants to sleep with her. He has told her several times that he wants to sleep with her, as he wields a machete or knife.”

During such incidents, the elder Shamala revealed, “the mother used to cry and we would run and spend the night in the bush because he is a man of his words. He will do what he wants and feels like and later take it out on us if we dared to report him to the sub-chief or police.”

Seth’s mother, Cherekira Ayemba, says that, “The beatings from my son who drinks and smokes bhang impaired my hearing.” She is currently recuperating in hospital.

Seth’s wayward ways and constant caning of the family forced his brother, Dokta Shamala who is a preacher, to run away from home. His other brothers, Godfrey Ligambi and Boniface Shamala are happy that he has been arrested. “Let him remain where he is. He has left us paralysed by constantly caning us,” said Ligambi.

Seth has been a source of torment to his family and the father recalls that: “He would come to my homestead even at night and demand for ugali and other favours. If he didn’t get what he wanted, he would cane me and his with viboko. No one could restrain him.”

The family has sworn not to give any evidence in court in his defence. The father says that,“My sons and I don’t want to see him again in life.” He adds that,“He came from where we bought him land in Ileho saying that the sub-chief of Ileho was too harsh. He said he had returned to stay and would ‘eliminate’ anyone who dared to question him.

Shamala is even now questioning whether he is really Seth’s father: “I doubt whether he is my blood. After killing his brother for refusing to buy him chang’aa, he went ahead to declare that he was now hunting for the genitals of his dead brother’s son. That forced us to hide the 12-year-old boy lest he kills for him.

In October, 2000 Seth was held in remand in Kakamega Prison for four years following a murder charge. He was accused of stabbing his brother severally in the stomach to death after a disagreement over land.

“We took him to Maragoli to his mother’s kin for four years and he looked reformed. He asked that his parcel of land at Mundulu be sold and that he be bought another elsewhere because he wanted to start a new life,” said his father  who sold the land and purchased another parcel in Ileho for his son.

He however allegedly sold the land in Ileho and returned to Mundulu and evicted his brother Mumani Shamala from his house.

“The first time Seth was taken to court, many feared to testify against him. But a lesson has been learned,” said Aggrey Majimbo, a human rights activist with the Africa Human Rights Education programme.

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