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Police officer narrates how monster wife blinded him in savage attack


A Police Constable based at Industrial Area, Nairobi has a harrowing tale of how his life changed permanently after he suffered an acid attack from his wife in September 2013.

On the fateful day, Dan Shisia Matakaya, who was then attached to Kisii Central Police Station, arrived home mid-morning from an exhausting night shift.

The previous day the couple had had a minor disagreement, but when he arrived home his wife, who was then aged 23, did show any lingering signs of the diabolic plot she was hatching.

“I had just fallen a sleep, when I was woken by an excruciating pain on my face. I stumbled out of bed, but I was disoriented and I couldn’t see anything,” Matakaya told Taifa Jumapili in an interview.

SEVERE BURNS

To make the situation worse and unknown to Matakaya, his wife had also disconnected electricity cables and laid then in hot water on the floor to make his escape almost impossible.

“I would have surely died in my house on that day, had it not been for my neighbours who had my loud screams and came in to rush me to hospital,” he narrated.

Dan Matakaya, a Police Constable at Industrial Area Police Station, Nairobi during the interview at Nation Center on January 31, 2019. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL
Dan Matakaya, a Police Constable at Industrial Area Police Station, Nairobi during the interview at Nation Center on January 31, 2019. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL

By this time though, his ex-wife had long fled the scene and gone into hiding although she would surrender herself to the police a few days later.

In hospital, the officer, who is now 31 years old, was met with the grim realization that other than suffering severe burns, which badly deformed his face, he had also lost his eyesight.

The woman, whose identity he wasn’t ready to reveal, was later arraigned in court for the offence but set free on bail.

COURT CASE

Since then, the case has been dragging on in court, which is the only place he has been meeting his assailant.

“My wife did this to me. I only meet her in court. All she keep saying is that she doesn’t know why she did it. I forgave her but I’m not going to withdraw the case much as her family members keep pleading with me to do so,” Matakaya told Taifa Jumapili.

Matakaya has since learnt using Braille and other basic skills that help in his work as a police officer.

He is also currently pursing a Degree in Counselling at Mount Kenya University, Nairobi Campus.

He says when he graduates he hopes to use his knowledge and personal experience to help other victims of domestic violence.