Man kills nephew and dumps body in dam

A man hacked his nine-year-old nephew to death then dumped the body in a dam in Kaisagat village in Kwanza.

The suspect reportedly lured the Standard One pupil to his house with the promise of buying him bread.

Accounts given by villagers say the suspect chopped off the boy’s head, wrapped the body in a sack and went and dumped it in a dam barely 100m from his house.

After that, the man allegedly took poison and was rushed to hospital in Kipsaina where he was admitted.

He was arrested after the body of his nephew was discovered.

Local chief David Kosgey said a villager stumbled on the body when she went to draw water from the dam on Thursday morning.

Playing outside

“The boy was playing with other children outside his grandmother’s house when his uncle invited him to his house with the promise to buy him bread. This is when he disappeared, prompting a search by his mother until midnight,” Kosgey told The Standard.

The chief added: “It’s when a villager went to draw water from the dam that she stumbled on the body and alerted the family.”

The boy’s mother, Ruth Petepete, linked the killing to the theft of a sheep from the home three days ago.

“This is unbelievable. This is a terrible thing in my life,” said Petepete.

Hundreds of villagers streamed to the home after word went round that the family was bereaved.

“It is unfortunate that he decided to kill the boy. Why did he do this? It is disheartening to lose an innocent life in such a cruel way,” said Grace Chebet.

Before the incident, the family had conducted a ritual to catch the person who had stolen a sheep from the homestead.

The man is suspected to have killed the nephew so that he does not report him.

Stole sheep

“We suspect the man was involved in the theft and the boy knew about it... that is why he decided to kill him,” said the chief.

The man dropped out of school in Standard Seven and has been spending most of his time in drinking dens in the village.