A family party in Mwimuto village, Gatundu North constituency, turned tragic after a man died from injuries allegedly inflicted on him by his five sisters.
Sisters Susan Wambui, Elizabeth Wairimu, Catherine Wanja, Alibeta Njambi and Mary Muthoni reportedly severely clobbered their brother Paul Njeri Ngogoyo, 51, on Sunday evening after a bitter exchange.
Neighbours who sought anonymity for fear of being dragged into the case said one of the sisters had prepared a traditional ceremony on Saturday to pave way for marriage of her younger sister.
It was decided that a goat that was brought to their mother, Hodilia Wanjiru, should be taken to her brother as required by Kikuyu tradition since she [Wanjiru] had not been married customary.
However, hell broke loose on Sunday morning when Ngogoyo, who was drunk, demanded that the goat be slaughtered for feast at home. He also demanded to be given part of the money the sister had brought their mother.
“There was muratina [Kikuyu traditional brew] at their home which he had taken. He spent the entire day hurling unprintable insults at his mother and sisters. He wanted the goat to be slaughtered and the goodies brought to her mother shared with him,” a neighbour said.
A police report indicated the bone of contention was the goat one of the sisters brought home.
The neighbour said the Ngogoyo's mother left in the evening to her brother’s home in a nearby village due to her son’s insults and returned on Monday morning.
Agitated by their brother’s insults, the sisters are said to have descended on their drunken brother with blows and whipped him with sticks forcing him to free to his house.
According to the police report seen by the Star, the man went to sleep at his house after the incident and on Sunday morning his sisters found him very ill.
“They took him to Igegania Level 4 Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” reads part of the report.
The five sisters were arrested and locked at Kamwangi police station when they went to report the incident on Monday, according to Gatundu North subcounty police commander Steve Kirui.
Kirui who briefed the press on Tuesday said the five sisters were arraigned at Gatundu court where police successfully applied for more days to hold the suspects to allow completion of investigations.
