Woman fights for life after man cuts off her arms

Residents of Kya Mavui village in Mbooni, Makueni County, have been left shaken after one of their neighours had her hands chopped off by an ex-husband.

The man is said to have used a machete to carry out the amputation. 

The man, Boniface Mutua, is said to have visited Purity Muthoki, 24, at her home on the pretext of reconciling with her. He had made similar trips in the past.

According to Muthoki's father Makau, Mutua arrived at their home at around 9pm on Saturday, and no one suspected he had other intentions. 

"Since he has been visiting us here since the time they parted ways with my daughter, we did not suspect he would end up doing such a thing. When he came, I left to finish some work in the neighborhood," said Makau. 

Muthoki was left behind with her former husband and father to their 10-year-old son. All along, Mutua who had travelled from Yatta in Machakos hid a machete in his pocket.

 "I heard loud cries from my home and as I returned to see what was happening, I met the man at the door in a rush to sneak out," he added  

Makau said he found everything in a mess inside the room where the two were and blood splashed all over the floor while Muthoki was lying on the floor fighting for the little life left in her.

She is currently recuperating at Makueni Referral Hospital where her two hands which were almost falling off were amputated. Doctors said she had 31 cuts on several body parts but was in a stable condition. 

 Dr Athman Lugogo, who led other medics in attending to her said she will remain in hospital for the next few days. 

 "We did resuscitation when the patient was brought in before taking her to theatre when we managed to amputate her two upper limbs," said Lugogo 

Villagers caught up with the man while he was fleeing, tied him with a rope and stoned him to death.

Area chief Jeremia Makau who confirmed the incident said they had recovered the machete while Mutua's body was moved to Tawa Mortuary.

Makueni Deputy Governor Adelina Mwau who has been in the forefront in the war against gender-based violence rebuked the incident and asked couples to seek help if need be. 

Gender-based violence cases have continued to rise following the government’s partial lock down in some counties as well as the nationwide curfew in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.