Man burns wife to death for not cooking supper in Nanyuki
His son reported that he flung the stove at his mother.
Whenever he gets home drunk, Mathenge is reported to be in the habit of picking quarrels with his wife, most of which spiral into physical fights.
He is reported to have threatened his wife on several occasions that he will one day kill her for being annoying. It had become normal because calm is always restored the following morning after nasty night fights.
War of words
But on this particular day, Mathenge arrived home drunk and demanded food, which his wife had not prepared. A war of words erupted, with Mathenge hurling a burning stove at his wife, Mary Wanjiku.
Neighbors had to intervene and save the woman after they heard cries from the couple’s three-year-old child. She sustained 63 per cent burns and died while undergoing treatment at the Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital.
After he was arrested and arraigned in Nanyuki High Court, Mathenge denied the charges, saying that the deceased had actually set herself on fire and it was him who tried to rescue her by pouring water on her.
Flung stove
However, Wachira told the court that his father is the one who set his mother aflame using a stove.
Justice Kasango, who was handling the case, said the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mathenge murdered his wife.
He, however, asked for a per-sentencing report from the investigating officer last Thursday before making a judgement on February 21, 2018.
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