NYAHURURU, Kenya, May 13 – Nyahururu court has jailed a man for 35 years for chopping his wife’s thumb and their one-year-old child’s left hand in a moment of rage.
Peter Kuria Kairu, 27, was also ordered to pay Sh750, 000 as compensation to his wife and son in addition to footing the bill of fitting the son with an artificial limb.
While delivering judgment, Nyahururu Principal Magistrate Teresia Matheka observed that the accused needed to be kept away from his wife and child since he had displayed signs of uncontrollable anger that had led him to commit the heinous act following a domestic dispute.
Mr Kuria had denied causing grievous bodily harm to his wife and son on September 30 last year at their home in Site Phase Two estate within Nyahururu municipality.
Nyandarua District Probation Officer Jason Ambukuse, in his social inquiry report on the accused, observed that Mr Kuria had uncontrollable anger which he feared could recur again if he was allowed to go home and continue living with his wife, son and a newly born baby girl.
”The extent of your anger is clearly evident; you armed yourself with a panga and pursued your wife to her cousin’s house after an earlier quarrel. When she declined to return to your house you cut her on the face, chopped off her thumb and eventually chopped your son’s hand off,” observed the magistrate.
The court observed that strong evidence showed the accused was the one who attacked his wife and dismissed his defence that he was attacked by irate residents who mistook him for a thief.
In mitigation, Mr Kuria who was represented by lawyer Chege Gakuhi pleaded for leniency, saying he and his wife had re-united and had been blessed with a baby girl adding that he was the sole breadwinner of his family.
He said if jailed, the newly re-united family would have difficulties as they lived in a rented house adding that his 21-year-old wife was still recuperating since she gave birth two months ago and that they solely depended on him for upkeep.
Ms Wairimu, who spent a week in a coma at Nyahururu District Hospital after the incident and a further four months while undergoing treatment, shocked the court when she disclosed that she had re-united with her husband.
But Chief Inspector Frederick Makapila strongly opposed the move saying the court had no powers to allow reconciliation in such a serious case where one of the complainants was a minor.
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