Man kills grandmother over witchcraft claim

Close relatives are usually culprits for the abuse of elders.[iStockphoto]

A 45-year-old man surrendered to police on Wednesday after he allegedly beheaded his grandmother in Jera Central village, Ugenya sub-county, for allegedly practising witchcraft.

In an incident that has left the village reeling in shock, George Opondo reportedly used an axe to kill his grandmother, Jenipher Aduol, before locking her body inside her house.

According to police, the granny's body was found in a pool of blood with deep cuts on the ear and head.

It was established that the deceased was staying with the suspect before the incident happened.

An axe and a spade with blood stains, suspected to have been used in the killing, were recovered.

According to the Chief of the North Ugenya location John Okelo, Opondo later presented himself at the Bar-Ober police post, where he confessed to the murder and requested officers to go and pick up the body.

The granny's body was taken to Same-day Classmates Funeral Parlour for preservation and postmortem, while the suspect was taken to Ukwala Police station.

Elsewhere, a family in Ndiwo village in the Usigu sub-county is living in agony after a five-day search for their 21-year-old son who drowned while crossing river Yala fails to yield any fruits.

The family has been camping along the river, trying to retrieve the body of James Ochieng who drowned while crossing the swollen river on Saturday evening.

Led by his father Johannes Okinyo, efforts to retrieve the body of their son were unsuccessful as the search entered the fifth day.

Okinyo said his son was crossing the river to bring cattle home from the other side when the incident happened.

The family said they have been spending cold nights along the river with relatives since May 24.

The family is calling on the government to provide professional aid to help retrieve the body of their son so that they can offer him a decent burial.

Yesterday, residents who spoke to The Standard blamed the death on lack of a bridge in the area, forcing the locals to use small canoes to cross.

Oliver Odongo, a resident, said they have witnessed several deaths in the area since a footbridge collapsed more than three months ago.

"We had a footbridge here that was helping us to access our farms on the other side of the river but it collapsed, killing one of us," said Odongo.

He added that despite being promised by Governor James Orengo to construct a new bridge, nothing has happened.

According to John Tajah, another resident, there is need to construct a new bridge in the area to avert the deaths.