Police in the interiors of Pokot, Kenya’s north rift, are hunting for an always-drunk man who beheaded his neighbour and fled with the head.
Confirming the bizarre incident, Pokot Central Sub-County Commissioner Geoffrey Kithinji, said the suspect beheaded Dickson Lipul after an argument over a brew at a local drinking haven on Sunday.
The suspect is said to have stormed the neighbor’s house with a machete the fateful day and sped off with the neighbours head, leaving the torso on the floor.
The almost insane man brandished the blood dripping head to the neighbours as a sign of victory for having cleared his major “progress setback”.
“When he reached a nearby school, he stopped to show us the head. Our efforts to catch him were thwarted because he then dashed into the thickets,” the vitcim’s brother, Michael Letiya, said.
Mr Letiya explained that the victim, being drunk, could not fight back, as he was asleep too.
“Both of them were coming from a drinking spree. They parted ways and went to their respective homes. What is puzzling us is why the suspect later stormed my brother’s home and killed him,” he said.
He added: “It has never happened in this village. I came to check on my brother and found his headless body lying on his bed. The blood was dripping onto the dusty floor.”
The sub-county commissioner said police were investigating the killing and a team of Kenya Police Reservists had been dispatched to look for the suspect and his victim’s head.
“We are pursuing all leads; there are indications that he could have sought refuge at a relative's home,” said Mr Kithinji.
Neighbours said the body could not be buried before rituals were performed, including burning the suspect's house and evicting him from the village.
“We have no choice but to perform rituals to curse the man that did this. His house will also be burnt and a bull will be slaughtered for cleansing,” said Letiya.