Man and alleged bhang addict Thursday night brutally murdered his father before setting the body ablaze at Muchungucha village in Kiharu constituency, Murang’a county.

Neighbours rescued the body of James Mwangi Mburu from the inferno as his biological son Michael Muchiri aged 23 vanished into the darkness.

Muchiri, a boda boda rider in the area is said to have waylaid his father on a footpath leading to the house that is surrounded by banana stems and hit him on the head with an axe before setting his body on fire.

Neighbours claimed that the son was a heavy bhang smoker and he had threatened to kill his father and other family members on several occasions.

Relatives lamented that they had tried to resolve the dispute between the two severally and condemned the brutal murder of a man they termed as a good neighbour.

The deceased who was commonly known as mukorino was working in a butchery at Murang’a town and had earned respect from his customers for alleged better service.

The neighbours who spoke to KNA said the suspect has also been threatening them should they rub him the wrong way.

“The young man has also been threatening to hurt us as no one has amicably interacted with him. We request government officers to search and arrest him before he kills another person,” said a neighbour who sought anonymity.

Murang’a County Police Commander Mr Josphat Kinyua confirmed the 7.30 pm incident saying police have launched a manhunt for the suspect in order to charge him with murder.

Kinyua said the body was taken to Murang’a County referral hospital mortuary.

KNA by Bernard Munyao