A 33-year-old casual labourer reportedly stabbed his wife to death in a quarrel over a serving of ugali he said was too small.
Patrick Odudo has gone into hiding. Nairobi police said he was angered after his wife, Viola Owour, served him what he considered an inadequate portion of his dinner.
The killing happened at Laundry Estate, Babadogo, on Monday night. Owour was dead on arrival at a Nairobi hospital.
At the weekend, another man stabbed and injured his wife and son in Nyeri in what was believed to be a quarrel over food.
In the Nairobi case, there are reports the couple fought frequently. The argument degenerated into a fistfight, which resulted in Odudo stabbing his wife in the head with a kitchen knife, police said.
The killing is the latest sign of suffering caused by the rising cost of living and skyrocketing cost of maize.
Millions of Kenyans are struggling to meet the cost of basic food.
In the Nyeri case, Wilson Kiguru surrendered to police.
He is accused of attacking Mercy Njeri, 28, for allegedly spending too much money to buy maize flour.
Njeri is admitted to hospital with multiple stab wounds to the face, neck and head. Their two-year-old son suffered a deep cut to the forehead. The 29,900 metric tonnes of white maize imported last week was Mexican maize shipped through South Africa.
Transport PS Paul Mwangi said SA imported that maize from Mexico last year when they faced an acute shortage. The excess maize was stored in Durban and sold to Kenya by Inter Africa Grains PTY of Johannesburg, said Mwangi.
It is not enough to bring down prices.
“The white maize is Mexican transhipped into Kenya from South Africa,” he said. It was imported by private millers, not the state. Three private millers, Kitui Flour Mills, Pembe Flour Mills and Hydery (P) Ltd imported it following tax exemption.