Shock as Nyeri man kills two children then tries to commit suicide

Thika residents peep into a house in which a man allegedly killed his two children and tried to commit suicide in Kiganjo estate. The man allegedly stabbed the children in the chest before taking poison and stabbing himself in the chest. [Kamau Maichuhie, Standard]

A man is said to have killed his two children before he attempted to commit suicide at Kiganjo estate in Thika on Tuesday night.

James Kioho is said to have stabbed his seven-year-old son and two-year-old daughter at his house at around 7.30pm.

According to neighbours, the man had left the estate on December 23 for Christmas festivities and returned on Tuesday afternoon with the children.

According to Mr Kioho’s sisters, who declined to be named, his brother had just returned from their rural home in Naro Moru, Nyeri County, accompanied by the two children.

She said before leaving home, he had reportedly quarrelled with his wife, who had two weeks earlier travelled home with the children.

Later that evening, the sister said her brother called their mother and threatened to kill the children and kill himself by taking poison.

“My mother called me immediately after receiving a call from my brother and told me what she had been told. We decided to rush there, only to find he had already killed the children and also tried to kill himself,” she said.

Julius Mulei, a neighbour, said the man, who moved into the estate a month ago, returned with the children at about 2pm.

He told journalists they were all in high spirits and were in fact playing before the children started to cry and scream at about 8pm.

“The children were very happy, jovial and in high spirits. We could hear them laughing and playing in the house. However, all of a sudden things changed and they started to cry and scream while calling for help,” said Mr Mulei.

He said when they went to check on what was happening, they found the door had been locked from inside and when they tried to call out Kioho, he did not respond.

The neighbours then decided to break the widow in order to peep inside and get a glimpse of what was going on.

“We saw the two children lying in a bed in a pool of blood. The man who seemed weak stood up and staggered and took a knife and stabbed himself in the chest as we watched,” he said.

“The man had vowed he would not be caught alive and therefore lit his gas and put it under his bed so that he could be burnt to death. We however managed to put out the fire before it could spread,” said another neighbour.

Police from Makongeni police station rescued the man from an angry mob that wanted to beat him up and took him to Thika Level Five Hospital.

Thika police boss Willy Simba said the man would be arraigned in court after recovery.