KDF soldier kills son, stabs himself after domestic row

Ebby Naliaka in a sombre mood narrates how Kennedy Simiyu killed the son in Makunga-Tongaren after a disagreement with the wife on phone over a post on WhatsApp with another man. [DUNCAN OCHOLLA, STANDARD]

A Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier allegedly stabbed his two-year-old son to death before turning the knife on himself yesterday.

However, the 30-year-old soldier did not die but is admitted in the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, in critical condition.

The man is said to have differed with his wife before the incident that shocked residents of Makunga village, Tongaren constituency.

Witnesses said the soldier, based at Gilgil Army Base, became hostile and threatened to kill the child after he disagreed with his wife in a telephone conversation.

The wife was reportedly in Nairobi, where she has been for the last six months looking for work.

The soldier is said to have locked himself and the boy inside his house on Sunday morning.

Police were called in and officers from Mbakalo, Makunga and Mukuyuni police stations responded.

However, their efforts to free the child were futile.

The soldier is said to have told the officers to leave his compound, failing which he would kill the child.

The police retreated back to their stations after four hours in the soldier's compound.

A woman who identified herself as the soldier's aunt said he was furious when he came home on annual leave only to find his wife missing.

She said he was also disturbed by a photo of his wife in a compromising situation with another man that was allegedly sent to him via WhatsApp.

“He took the child and laid him on the bed then closed the door. They remained in the house from 9.30am to 6.30pm, when he killed his son, before stabbing himself in the chest. Throughout the day, he wanted to stab the child but we pleaded with him not to because the child was innocent,” she said.

Villagers said they tried to break down the door to rescue the child but were unable because it is made of steel.

“We tried reaching his wife on phone so she could plead with him to give us the child. She sent him a text message to say she was coming back home,” said the woman.

“But he cried out loudly saying he could not live to see his wife cheating on him. Then we heard the child crying. We peeped through the bedroom window and saw that he had stabbed the child in the stomach. He stabbed him several times before he stabbed himself in the chest. He lay in a pool of blood with the knife still stuck in his chest."

Too late

Benson Wanjala, a neighbour and a retired National Intelligence Service officer, said the police broke down the door hoping to save the two but it was already too late for the boy.

Mr Wanjala said they took the soldier and his son to Webuye County Hospital, where doctors pronounced the child dead.

“We called his station in Gilgil and they sent an ambulance that took him to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret,” said Wanjala.

“The officer once came to my house and said he would kill his wife because of unending domestic feuds. I cautioned him against it.”

Wanjala said the soldier had also complained that his wife had been posting photos with strangers on her Facebook page and WhatsApp account, and picked quarrels when he demanded to know who the strangers were.

The woman could not be reached for comment as her phone went unanswered.

Bungoma OCPD Eliud Okello said police were investigating the matter.