Nairobi, Nakuru Lead in Spousal Killings- Report

A report by Daily Nation has revealed counties with a high prevalence for domestic violence cases that lead to death.

The report dubbed #MurderAtHome ranked Nairobi as a domestic murder hotspot closely followed by Nakuru.

Nairobi is reported to have accounted for some 21 deaths that occurred between October 2018 and November 15, 2019, while Nakuru followed closely at 19 with Uasin Gishu coming at 12.

Silhouette depicting domestic violence. PHOTO: Courtesy

Over the past year, 148 people were killed in gender-related incidents. Out of this figure, four out of five deaths involved intimate spouses.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country rep Dr Ademola Olajide, the violence cuts across the gender divide with the women being the hardest hit.

University of Nairobi’s anthropology professor Owuor Olungah asserts that the majority of domestic murders are premeditated and that the perpetrators show signs of committing them way before they actually do.

Prof Olungah also told the Daily Publication that the victims of domestic violence often reconcile with their abusive partners as a result of learned helplessness.

They believe their situations cannot change and that their abusers are justified to assault them.

During the period, children accounted for one in eight deaths as they were caught up in the crosshairs of their parents’ feuds.

A case in point is when a two-year-old Michael Njoroge and his seven-year-old sister Jane Muruge were killed by their mother who had hacked her husband while sleeping on the bed.

This was after her husband reported her at the area chief for being abusive.

But more intriguing is a case where a military officer shocked the nation after he led detectives to a shallow grave where had buried his wife and two kids.

Major Peter Mugure is believed to have hit his wife dead with a blunt object before stabbing his two kids to death.

The report also concluded that April was the most dangerous month accounting for 26 gender-based deaths closely followed by February at 21.

 

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