A man allegedly beat his 22 year-old pregnant wife, leaving her bleeding and unconscious, after claiming she stole from him and that she was a nag.
Justa Kawira, who has been married for six years, said
John Wachira, 30, accused her of stealing after returning drunk to their home in Lang'ata, Nairobi.
The woman
said she confronted Wachira, who returned at about 10pm on Sunday night, when he insisted that she stole his money.
"I told him I did not steal any money but he beat me until I could not take it anymore. I ran out to my friend's house where I spent the night," she told The Star on phone on Wednesday.
Kawira said she found her husband with another person who was taking pictures of their house when she went back on Monday morning.
"I asked why they were taking pictures of the house but they did not talk to me. Wachira got angry when I insisted, saying I was driving his friend
away," she said.
Kawira said her husband assaulted her again, asking why she was nagging him about a trivial matter.
"He punched me in the face and I punched him back. He was stronger than me... he pushed me to the ground and dragged me to the house where he beat me some more. I woke up in hospital," she said.
Kawira, a housewife who is six months pregnant, said Wachira often beats her without reason while drunk. They have a son aged three.
"He has stabbed me before, causing me to have a miscarriage. My parents know about the beatings but only my mother has tried to intervene," she said.
"I am glad
my baby is fine," she added from Lang'ata hospital where she is admitted.
Kawira said a neighbour among those who took her to the hopital reported the incident at Langata police station and obtained
an OB number. She said Rose Karanja was with her at the hospital.
Langata OCPD Elijah Mwangi said he had received a complaint and arrested the man whom Kawira said works at a textiles shop in the city centre.
But he told The Star on phone on Wednesday that the man, who could not be reached for comment, was released on a
police cash bail pending investigations.
"My officers went to the hospital where she is admitted to get more details into the matter," he said adding "the case is in safe hands".
"The doctor will tell us how grievous the harm is through a medical report... we will then know what to do. For now we have to be patient."
He urged the public to report such cases to police.