A man who allegedly hired goons to beat up his children has been charged with causing grievous harm.
Wallace Gatere was arraigned before Makadara senior principal magistrate Angelo Kithinji on Tuesday to answer to the charges.
The court heard that on July 26 at Ruai location in Njiru, Nairobi, Gatere, jointly with others not before court, he caused grievous harm to Dominic Kiarie.
According to documents before court, at the time of the incident, Gatere and his wife had separated following domestic violence. The complainant’s mother then took in her three children in Block 10 area in Ruai.
On July 23, according to the documents, the complainant, his siblings and mother were locked out of their rental house by their landlady over arrears.
The complainant’s sister Marion Wangui then went back to their father to request if he could help with paying their rent. However, she received a call from the father asking her to leave the premises immediately.
She hesitated and was later joined by their mother and siblings. They allegedly spent the night outside the compound for three days as their father could not let them in and they had no other place to go.
In the morning of July 26, the mother decided to break into the house and prepare her children something to eat. The accused had left the house the previous day and had not returned.
After eating, the children went outside to play. Shortly after, a group of young men jumped over the fence and opened the gate. They then saw their father arrive in his car. The alleged goons were numbering 10, each carrying a metal bar and an axe.
The court heard that they descended on Kiarie and Wangui with kicks and blows as their father watched. The court was told that Kiarie was rushed to RFH Hospital. His lower teeth had been dislodged and he sustained other injuries in the abdomen and ribs.
Gatere denied the charges and was freed on a Sh100,000 bond. Kithinji ordered the matter be heard on February 10, 2021.
