Kirinyaga grandmother attacked by son over land dispute dies

A group of mourners gathering at the home of Helen Wanjiru Kaguongo (88), who was hacked to death by her son at Ndimi village, Kirinyaga County over bitter family land rivalry .PHOTO:MUNENE KAMAU/STANDARD. DATE; MAY 13, 2016

One of two grandmothers hospitalised after being attacked with pangas by their sons has died.

Helen Wanjiru Kaguongo, 88, from Ndimi village, died at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

The grandmother went into a coma immediately after the attack, allegedly by one of her younger sons, on March 29.

“After almost a month in a coma, my mother never made it. She died on May 8, leaving a hefty bill at the hospital,” said Joseph Wachira, also her son

Mr Wachira said at 6.30pm on March 29, one of his brothers attacked his mother with a panga from behind as she went to fetch water from a tap within the compound.

“My brother cut my defenseless mother five times in the head,” he said.

Wachira said the assailant stood a few metres from her groaning mother as two grandchildren who witnessed the attack raised the alarm.

A neighbour who heard the children’s screams rushed to the scene and took the unconscious woman to Kerugoya Level Five Hospital.

Sh500,000 bill

“My mother was then transferred to the ICU at KNH where she remained until she was declared dead after failing to come out of the coma, leaving behind a Sh500,000 bill for us to settle,” he said.

At Mutinu village in Kirinyaga West Sub-County, Mary Muthoni, 76, is still fighting for her life after her son attacked her with a machete while she was tethering her goats.

A witness said the assailant, without any provocation, crept behind his unsuspecting mother and started slashing her with the sharp weapon several times until she fell down unconscious.

“My grandmother who had no quarrel with his son and without any provocation set upon her with a sharp panga, cut her in the back, severed her three fingers before disfiguring her face with the weapon,” said Denis Mwangi.

The boy said that his uncle then picked up three fingers he had chopped off and walked away with them as neighbours rushed to the bloody scene to answer the distress call.

The assailant, name withheld, escaped the wrath of the angry residents by a whisker after he ran into the compound of a nearby police post where he was arrested and locked in.

The enraged residents later vented their anger by setting his house on fire, destroyed his banana plantation and any of his valuables that they could lay their hands on.

The victim of the April 26 incident was rushed to Kerugoya Level Five Hospital and admitted in critical condition.

Kirinyaga West Police Boss Gasper Makau said the suspect had a criminal history, having been convicted killed his brother 15 years ago.

“We have established that after hacking to death his brother 15 years ago, his case was reduced to manslaughter and he only served seven years in jail,” he said.

Although both suspects were in police custody, the heinous crimes have caused anxiety and fear as they touch on family land disputes, a common cause of crime in the area, said Makau.