‘I heard my parents scream as gang hacked them to death’

By PHILIP MUASYA

Little Makau Musyoki cannot comprehend why anyone would plan to kill his hardworking parents.

The boy, 14, is now an orphan after a gang hacked to death his parents in Mwingi on Thursday morning. Musyoki, who was sleeping in a granary at the time of the incident, says he heard the attackers storm their homestead at around 1am on Thursday.

From his hideout, he could see dark images shining bright spotlights over the compound. “I panicked and woke up. They shouted at my parents to wake up with Sh1 million in their hands,” says the Class Six pupil. Moments later, Makau says he heard a loud bang. The gang had kicked open the door of his parents’ house.

What followed was a deafening scream from his mother and two sisters as they were being hacked. “I cringed in my blanket and lay still,” he says, tears welling in his eyes.

Tried to escape

His father Munyoki Syengo was also shouting at the top of his voice. Unfortunately, there was no one to rescue them.

The boy heard two male workers being hounded out of their houses and slashed to death as they tried to escape. After about an hour, silence engulfed the homestead.

Makau’s heart was pounding dangerously, as an ominous feeling overwhelming him. “I could hear them leave the compound. I knew something terrible had happened.”

At about 5.30am, Makau crept out of the granary. He could see a figure lying in the middle of the compound. It was the body of his mother. He dashed into the homestead of Muthami Maluki, a neighbour and alerted him.

“I had heard the commotion and shouted for help in the middle of the night, but no one responded. I am weak and old,” says the 70-year-old man.

Two more bodies, bearing machete wounds, were discovered near the fence. They belonged to the domestic workers.