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Marriage woes that may have driven Likoni man to his death in the ocean – VIDEO

By Kitavi Mutua December 11th, 2019 2 min read

The family of a man who died after plunging into the Indian Ocean last week on Tuesday claimed he had endured years of abuse at the hands of his wife.

As they prepared to bury him, John Mutinda’s mother, Ms Musangi Mutinda, alleged that her son’s wife had come up with a false narrative to hide the suffering to which she had allegedly subjected him.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

In an interview with the Nation at her Kyanika home in Kitui County, Mrs Mutinda claimed her son was recovering from severe burns after his wife allegedly scalded him with hot water last month.

“My son died from depression and despair, which was a consequence of domestic violence and marital anguish he endured at home. It is, therefore, wrong for his wife to insinuate he had gone mad,” Mrs Mutinda lamented.

Mr Mutinda is said to have stormed out of his house in Vanga Estate, Likoni, Mombasa County, at around 4am on Saturday, got into his vehicle and sped off towards the Likoni crossing channel before plunging into the ocean.

His wife, Ms Ruth Mueni, later claimed her husband, a clearing and forwarding agent, started behaving funnily that night after receiving a strange call from his father, who died many years ago.

But holding photos of her son with burn wounds all over his chest, Mrs Mutinda said his son’s wife’s claims made the pain of losing the father of three even worse.

“After she scalded him with hot water, she rushed to lodge a complaint at the Central Police Station in Mombasa, prompting police to lock up my son in custody for four days” Mrs Mutinda claimed, adding that he was released without any charges being preferred against him.

She urged police in Mombasa to investigate her daughter-in-law over the alleged domestic abuse and also release the findings of the postmortem examination on his body for the truth to be known.

DROVE INTO OCEAN

One of her sons made similar claims, regretting that they did not intervene early enough to save him from giving up on life.

Contacted for comment, Ms Mueni acknowledged they had marital issues but said the media should let her mourn her husband in peace.

She declined to discuss how her husband got wounds on the chest, only saying she needed time to explain the circumstances to her mother-in-law and other family members, who were complaining about her.

“Who has given you those photos? This is a private family issue and I cannot talk at the moment because I am at a police station organising for the postmortem examination,” she said.

Mutinda, a 46-year-old businessman, is said to have knocked down a motorcycle as he sped off.

Kenya Ferry Services (KFS) personnel said he did not stop to pay the ferry fee but drove straight into the ocean at around 4.20am.

In the process, he almost ran over a KFS official. At the time of the incident, the only ferry operating was on the island, while the incident took place on the mainland.