Residents of Kagumo-ini village in Kandara, Murang'a, Kenya, were shocked when an elderly woman murdered her husband on sunday morning.
After a personal dispute, Margaret Wanjiru, 65, is said to have attacked John Ndung'u, 99, with a panga.
Wanjiru, according to Betty Mumbi, the deceased's daughter-in-law, woke in the morning and began hurling insults at her husband, who was eating breakfast in the kitchen.
“She woke up and started insulting the husband and included me because I was the one serving him breakfast. The husband tried to calm her down, but it was in vain,” she said.
Mumbi claimed that the dead never intended to fight and that he tried to calm her down, but she instead grabbed a panga and slit her husband's throat before cutting off his head.
“She raced for the panga and sliced his throat,” she explained. “I tried to save him, but she attacked me as well,” Mumbi explained.
Mumbi sounded the alarm as blood oozed from her father-in-law’s throat, alerting her neighbors who hurried to the scene, but it was too late.
“He was lying outside the house as he tried to escape, but she overpowered him and cut off his head,” she added.
Mumbi claimed that the two haven't been on good terms for some time and that her mother-in-law had threatened to kill her husband on multiple times, though she doesn't know what began the feud.
“Earlier this year, Wanjiru assaulted her husband, striking him on the forehead and injuring him severely,” Mumbi revealed.
Sabina Nyambura, the deceased's daughter, claims that their mother has made it a habit of picking fights with everyone in the family, making them agitated.
Nyambura went on to say that they had reported their mother to the police on multiple times after she allegedly threatened to kill their father, but that no action was taken against her.
She also disclosed that their mother returned home after being away for a couple of years.
“Our mother was away from home and no one knew where she was, but when she returned, things became chaotic,” she explained.
Nyambura now wants her mother to face the consequences of her crime.
“We want justice for our father, and our mother should face the consequences of her actions,” she continued.
The subject has been taken up by the police for further investigation.