Kitui man attacks wife with axe, leaves her for dead

 

A man from Mwingi North in Kitui has been detained by the police following accusations he attacked his wife with an axe on Tuesday and fled.

Kyuso subcounty police commander Charles Machinji said Makau Musya, 35, was arrested and locked up in a cell as investigations proceed. 

He said the suspect's wife was critically injured during the attack and was referred to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised care as her condition could not be handled at Mwingi Level 4 Hospital where she was initially admitted.

"The woman, Vaati Musya, 28, who was critically injured, was taken to Mwingi Level 4 Hospital, but as her situation worsened, she was transferred to KNH for specialised attention,” Machinji told the Star on the phone.

The ECDE teacher at Kimu Primary School was admitted to KNH in critical condition.

Meanwhile, Musya had gone into hiding on Tuesday afternoon after the attack. Machinji said his officers recovered the weapon at the scene and went after Musya.

Kimu chief John Muthengi said that by the time the victim was hospitalised, she had bled profusely from deep cuts in the neck, back and head, and she had lost a left-hand finger.

The administrator said the man had on several occasions accused his wife of five years of being unfaithful and threatened to teach her a lesson.

The chief said he had made futile attempts to reconcile the couple, but they were always quarrelling.

Muthengi said the man appeared to have been planning the Tuesday attack, as he waylaid his wife as she returned to their Mui village home from nearby Kimu trading centre at around 2pm and pounced on her.

"In one blow, he struck her on the neck, sending her to the ground. He then hit her on the head, severing one of her earlobes. The mother of two appeared to have been attempting to block the vicious blows and thus one of her fingers was chopped off,” said the chief.

He said the man fled when he saw people come to his wife's rescue, leaving her for dead. Other residents pursued him in vain, the chief said.

An ambulance from Kyuso hospital rushed the woman to Mwingi hospital as the police launched a manhunt for the husband.