A 35-year-old-man from Kyuso in Kitui has pleaded guilty to brutally attacking his wife with an axe and leaving her for dead.
The wife, Jane Bahati,28, was admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, in critical condition. She later slipped into a coma and was taken to the ICU.
Kyuso police commander Charles Machinji said Makau Musya was put on a holding charge because of the wife’s condition. He said the police had to charge Musya after the expiry of the days the court had allowed them to hold him.
“The ideal charge against the accused person will be preferred when the fate of the hospitalised victim becomes clear. Depending on how things go, he might even end up being charged with a more serious offence of attempted murder,” Machinji said.
Musya was arrested on December 23 when he surrendered to the police at Kyuso, a day after he went into hiding following the attack. The police were granted court orders to hold him for seven days, pending the conclusion of investigations.
Musya was charged on Wednesday before Kyuso senior resident magistrate John Aringo. The court heard that on December 22 at Kimu sub-location in Kyuso, he unlawfully caused grievous bodily harm to Bahati. He admitted guilt.
The prosecution urged the court to suspend his sentencing for seven days pending the fate of the wife.
Aringo granted the prosecution’s prayers, termind them justified. He thus ordered that the accused be remanded until January 7, 2021, when the case will be mentioned. Muasya was held at the Waita GK Prison.