Relatives of the family hacked and strangled to death by their mother, Joyce Wanjiru, are appealing help to pay for Sh300,000 funeral expenses..
Thome Five estate’s Nyumba Kumi chairman Geoffrey Mwangi told the Star on Friday that they have not yet received any money to preserve the four bodies at City Mortuary.
“We even had to send fare to the father of the late Joseph Gitau who comes from Eldama Ravine, so that we could have one committee as a family,” he said.
Mwangi said no postmortems have been performed.
“The rope that Wanjiru used to hang herself with is still on her neck. The family is looking forward to burying them by Thursday that is if we have the budget,” Mwangi told the star.
They are to be buried at Lang’ata Cemetery.
On Tuesday, Wanjiru axed her husband, Joseph Gitau, and strangled and smothered her two children. Then she hanged at their home in Thome estate, Nairobi.
Neighbours said she had a violent nature and was given to rage. She was also said to be having an affair with a boda boda rider.
The Nyumba Kumi chairman was forced to expel the boda boda man in hopes of saving their 10-year marriage.
Mwangi said the body of the man was found in bed, the older child lay on a three-seater couch. The younger child was on a small bed. The woman was hanging from a rafter.
The bodies were found on Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the murder-suicides is not known.
Police have raised the alarm over increased family murders.
Many gruesome murders have taken place recently. Most involve spouses killing each other before turning on their children.
On Thursday, DCI George Kinoti told the Star that depression is a common feature in all these murders. He said most people are having difficulty coping with life's stresses.
Psychiatrists say all cases and causes are different.
(Edited by V. Graham)
