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Jackline Mwende (L) and Stephen Ngila Nthenge (R)
A 34-year-old Kenyan man, Stephen Ngila Nthenge has been arrested for allegedly cutting off his wife’s hands as punishment for her not being able to get pregnant after seven years of marriage, The Nation Kenya reports.
Nthenge was also alleged to have inflicted serious injuries on his wife’s face.
The tragic incident took place on July 24 in Masii, Machakos County.
Nthenge reportedly fled the scene after the incident, but was arrested the next day July 25. He pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder charge filed against him. He will be remanded till August 5 for continuation of the case.
Narrating the incident, the 27-year-old woman, Jackline Mwende, a shopkeeper said:
I could not understand why he was blaming me yet we had gone to hospital last year and the doctors had said he was the one with issues, which could be corrected.
He moved out of our house three months ago and came back on Sunday (July 24) at around 8.30pm. When I opened the door, he said, ‘today is your last day’ and started slashing me with the panga (machete).
As he was inflicting injuries on me, I cried and called for help but he fled before neighbours arrived. They were all afraid of touching me, they thought I was dead. I was rushed to Machakos Hospital where I was given painkillers and got a blood transfusion. I was discharged on Friday.
Speaking to journalists, Jackline’s father, Samuel Munyoki Kyule said: “We want justice for our daughter. The person who did this should pay for it. She is now disabled and will need artificial hands to get her life together but we can’t afford anything. We are poor, we can’t even afford her painkillers”.
Photo Credit: The Nation Kenya