Man killed by irate mob after dismembering wife over land dispute

The man reportedly kept a machete at their bedside. [Courtesy]

A man, who hacked his wife to death over a land dispute, was lynched and his body set ablaze by irate villagers in Ndumbu village, Mbooni East, Makueni County.

Boniface Mutua, 74, is reported to have returned home following the outbreak of Covid-19 having fled for over 20 years after selling his family’s piece of land.

His wife, Ruth Kavisu Mutua, 71, now deceased, however, refunded the buyer and revoked the title deed. On his return, Mutua is said to have demanded the title deed, a position Kavisu and her children resisted.

“Our father fled after selling the land, but through our efforts and that of our mother, we managed to refund the buyer. When the country was hit by the Covid-19 last year, he came back and we accepted him as our father but on condition that he will peacefully co-exist with our mother,” said the couple’s son, Kilonzo.

Mutua is said to have turned violent and kept a slasher, a knife, and a machete at their bedside, threatening to kill and inflict bodily harm upon his wife for not producing the land documents.

“He kept at their bedside objects such as a knife and a sharp slasher; he had plans to kill his wife,” said King’oo Muendo, Kavisu’s younger brother, who said he witnessed the shocking homicide.

Muendo revealed: “There were scuffles. When I arrived at the home, I could hear someone screaming, and weird slashing sounds. Mutua came out of the house after committing the act wielding a bloodied machete and tried to escape. A sizeable crowd had, however, started milling around and he was lynched.”

Confirming the incident, the deceased’s son, Boniface, said his mother was living in fear and that they had reported the threats to Mbooni East administrators, including the area chief and Deputy County Commissioner.

According to Kiteta- Kisau Ward Representative Dennis Masavu, murder cases involving family members were on the rise and asked the government to stem the vice. Since January, the region has reported more than five incidents of murder.

Mutua's charred body was taken to Makueni Referral Hospital morgue alongside his wife's dismembered remains.