Enraged residents of Kobor Village in Gem Yala sub-county on Sunday raided the home of a man suspected to have hacked his wife to death.
The infuriated villagers who were baying for the blood of the suspect overran the homestead destroying properties of unknown value after word went round that Fredrick Onyango popularly known ‘Kombas’ was behind the macabre killing his 50-year-old wife Millicent Atieno.
The suspect was alleged to have hacked and stabbed the woman he inherited after the demise of her previous husband leaving her for dead before her lifeless body was recovered at their matrimonial home.
According to the victim's son who discovered the body, he had gone to the house to check up on Atieno only to find her lifeless body on the ground with multiple stab wounds and raised the alarm.
Preliminary reports into the incident indicated that the suspect had been living together with the deceased as husband and wife after he ‘inherited’ her under the Luo customary tradition although the motive behind the crime could be established by the time going to press.
However, independent sources close to the suspect revealed that the couple had a bout of jealousy over infidelity issues that could have driven Onyango into taking the life of his lover.
Onyango or Kombas as he is locally referred to by those who know him was taken into police custody shortly after the incident, as angry residents made their way to his homestead where they demolished his house and damaged other property baying for his blood.
Residents of Kobor also said that Kombas has been a habitual offender in the community often involved in petty theft cases of chicken and cattle.
Confirming the incident, Yala township location Chief Anam Adongo cautioned the public against taking the law into their own hands and damaging property citing that there could be others depending on the property such as children who are then punished for the mistakes of others.
“Once an arrest has been made, I urge the public to let the law enforcement perform their role and no one should take it upon themselves to be the executioner,” Adongo added.
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