Police in Kitui on Tuesday night arrested 19-year-old John Mutinda from Katithini village after he allegedly slashed his newly married wife to death using a panga.
Kitui Central sub-county police boss Sicily Gatiti confirmed the brutal killing of the deceased, Ciru Murimi.
The police said the motive of the murder, which has left the whole village in shock, remains unknown.
However, the suspect claims the incident was purely accidental.
“We were alerted about the murder at around 1am on Tuesday night and we then visited the crime scene and recovered a bloodied panga that was we suspect was used in the killing,” said Ms Gatiti.
The suspect was arraigned in court on Wednesday. The court allowed police to detain him for 14 days.
The suspect’s mother narrated to journalists how her son knocked at her window and told her to take him to the police station.
“He knocked at my window and requested me to take him to the station because he had accidentally killed his new wife after a misunderstanding,” she said.
The body of the deceased was taken to the Kitui Hospital morgue.
Elsewhere, two women exchanged blows at a Kirinyaga morgue each claiming to be legally married to the late.
The deceased who is reportedly a boda boda operator died in an accident.
On Wednesday morning, the women insisted on signing the release form at the Kirinyaga County Referral Hospital morgue causing a stir.
All the while, they demanded recognition as the deceased’s wife saying the 32-year-old man fathered their children.
The women went to the extent of exchanging blows and one of them was eventually overwhelmed with emotions and collapsed.
Fellow boda boda operators began singing worship songs in order to cool down the tension.
It took the intervention of elders and close family members who ended up signing the release form.