Cry for justice after ex-lover burns teacher with acid

A primary school teacher is nursing injuries at the Kakamega County General and Referral Hospital after her ex-husband allegedly attacked her with acid at Kipkaren in Lugari Sub-county.

Eunice Akinyi was reportedly attacked by the man as she was returning home from a local school on Wednesday.

She had gone to the school to make a follow up on a job application she had earlier submitted to the administration.

Akinyi’s husband Valentine Makaka said a boda boda operator saw the suspect attack his wife after allegedly accusing her of dumping him for another man. He said the attacker wrestled Akinyi to the ground and poured acid on her face, private parts and the rest of the body.

Very ill

“He (the rider) informed me about the incident. My wife had sustained burns on the face, which had turned white, and she was writhing in pain. At Lumakanda Sub-County Hospital, she told me the attacker was her former husband,” Mr Makaka said.

Akinyi was then referred to the county hospital for specialised treatment.

“She was in pain and very ill when we received her, the face was worst affected,” said Bilha Atemba, a nurse at the referral hospital. She said Akinyi sustained between 35 and 40 per cent burns.

Police have opened investigation into the attack. They took the clothes Akinyi was wearing at the time of the attack and a small container recovered at the scene of the attack.

Akinyi’s family from Khasoko in Bungoma County has demanded justice.

“They separated about six years ago when my daughter was two months pregnant. She decided to marry another man and settle down because he appeared reluctant to commit to the marriage,” Mildred Kulundu, Akinyi’s mother, said.