Tens of women from Sinai village in Mautuma location in Lugari Sub County on Wednesday staged a demonstration against a man whom they accused of habitually battering his wife.

Carrying twigs and singing songs, the women-led by Alice Ombima, a human rights activist, stormed Geoffrey Atundo’s compound accusing him of physically abusing his wife Jesca Atundo.

The women had been irked by the Tuesday morning incident where Atundo decided to burn his wife’s clothes following a squabble.

They said they had been silently observing Atundo assault the spouse regularly since marrying a second wife and they could not stand it anymore.

“This man has been battering his wife on several occasions and yet violence against women is a crime punishable by the law,” said Rael Otweche, a neighbour.

The women threatened to discipline Mr. Atundo before the church leaders, elders and local administrators led by one Jared Odongo intervened and calmed the situation.

During a brief meeting held in the couple’s compound, it was revealed that Atundo had abandoned his family and abdicated his responsibilities. His wife complained that he neither provides food and other basic needs, nor pays fees for his secondary school children.

He was also accused of spending most of his time with the second wife Elizabeth Atundo and whenever he went to his first wife’s house he turned violent.

Atundo admitted his mistake and reconciled with his spouse promising to change his behavior as well as buy her new clothes.

He was however fined a sheep that would be slaughtered to cleanse the family according to the local customs.

The incident comes in the wake of 16 days of activism against Gender-Based Violence in the country. Kakamega has been described as one of the worst affected counties in the country.

Rape and defilement are the other common forms of GBV in the area.

- KNA by Sammy Mwibanda