KENYA:FAMILY CLOBBERED TO DEATH IN RAID

A woman and her three daughters have been murdered in what police say was a revenge attack by a suspect released for lack of evidence.

Ms Agnetta Imbaya and her daughters Cynthia, 14, Jacinta, 12, and Hilda, nine, were raped and hit by metal bars until they died at Wekelekha Village.

The only boy in the family, Anelka Imbaya, seven, is reported to have survived because he was visiting with his grandmother on the fateful night.

The father of the children, Mr Nixon Imbaya, works in Nairobi and had not yet arrived home by Wednesday evening.

WORRIED NEIGHBOUR

The mother was a key witness in a robbery with violence case together with her eldest daughter.

The suspect in the case had threatened, in front of the magistrate, to kill the family and was denied bail as a result. He was later released for lack of evidence.

Bungoma County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed, who arrived at the scene accompanied by police officers, vented his fury at the magistrate who released the suspect.

“The suspect was identified by the deceased during trial in an identification parade. He even threatened her in court. The magistrate ordered the suspect to be remanded for two months for his actions.

‘‘The magistrate should be held accountable for releasing the suspect for lack of evidence. What evidence did the court want?” Mr Maalim posed.

He described the suspected killer as a well-known jail bird said to be having an illegal gun.

“It was wrong for the court to release him. He has been on the police radar for long and we arrested him to save the man from an irate mob that wanted to lynch him,” Mr Mohammed said.

A neighbour, Mrs Jane Miheso, said Ms Imbaya called her last evening, saying, she was scared after learning that the prime suspect in the robbery case was released from custody and later seen in the village.

“She (Ms Imbaya) was very scared when she called me. She remembered the threats by the suspect,” the neighbour said.

Another neighbour, Mrs Catherine Sifuna, said she realised something was wrong when she sent her daughter to borrow a jembe from Ms Imbaya’s home twice.

“My daughter told me the house was locked and even the chicken coop was not yet open,” she said, adding, she became suspicious since Ms Imbaya was an early riser.

“I went there and peeped through the window only to see a stream of blood flowing from the bedroom. I screamed,” she said.

She added that they later realised that the house was locked from outside and called the police.

Before the case went to court, the prime suspect in the robbery had reportedly warned Ms Imbaya of dire consequences should she revealed his identity to the police. But Ms Imbaya reported the matter to the police and identified the suspect.

Her mother-in-law, Ms Celina Muhonji, called for thorough investigations to bring the killers to book.

RISING INSECURITY

“This is a big tragedy. We do not know what to do. We pray that the killers be apprehended and brought to book,” she said.

Ms Muhonji’s husband, Mr Japheth Imbaya, complained about rising insecurity in the area and blamed the police for the death.

“They should have given her security since she complained several times that her life was in danger,” he said.