A man has been arrested after he beat his 67-year-old father to death.
The man claimed to have committed the heinous crime because his dad had failed to pay his mother’s dowry.
Wundanyi Officer Commanding Police Department, Benjamin Muhia, said the deceased, Wilmont Mwawasi, was beaten to death by his son after a short argument over the unpaid dowry of his mother who died 12 years ago.
“We have arrested the suspect and we intend to arraign him in court after investigations are completed,” Muhia said.
He said the suspect clobbered his father to death using a hollow metal bar after the deceased failed to explain why he had not honored their tradition of paying his late wife’s dowry, even after pleading with the father several times to do so.
Nairobi News reports that investigating Officer Christopher Langat and Wundanyi DCIO Eunice Maina, who visited the crime scene, said the murder weapon was recovered from the suspect.
“We have recovered the metal bar we suspect was used to commit the crime, but we are still looking for more details to determine the motive of the murder,” Maina said.
She said that preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect killed his father due to unpaid dowry which he claimed had brought bad omen to their family.
“The family of the late mother had been putting pressure on the deceased to pay dowry, so when the son asked his father about it, the deceased charged towards his son and all hell broke loose.
“The metal bar inflicted injuries on his hands, meaning he was blocking himself from the beatings from his son.
“The blunt object can be said to have caused his death,” Maina said, adding that the recovered weapon will be subjected to ballistic analysis.
The deceased’s daughter, Salome Mshai, who witnessed the killing, said the 67-year-old had started the quarrel.
“He came home drunk and when my brother asked him about the dowry, he charged towards him, slapped and kicked him. I tried to separate them, but my father insisted on disciplining him.”
She said it was after 30 minutes of physical fight that her father brandished the metal bar and hit her brother twice.
“My brother managed to snatch the metal bar from my father and hit him on the head repeatedly, he bled profusely and fell down,”
The woman said their father was to blame for what had happened because he was the one who picked up a fight when he was softly asked what he was thinking about the dowry.
She said the consequences of unpaid dowry had started manifesting in their family, as his younger brothers were getting mad, while some had their blessings blocked.
“In our tradition, failing to pay dowry has negative consequences. These are what we had started witnessing that forced my brother to approach him to address the issue,” she said.
Mr. Muhia urged the residents to solve such issues peacefully to avoid killing each other over minor issues.
These are minor issues that can be discussed at the family level. We call upon the residents to practise tolerance and employ peaceful conflict resolution mechanism,” he said.
The suspect is being held at Wundanyi Police Station in Kenya.
