Call for justice after man chops off his wife’s hands
Print Edition
A Kenyan man who chopped off his wife’s hands with a machete because she had not conceived a child must face the full force of the law to deter other perpetrators of widespread domestic violence in Kenya, women’s rights activists said yesterday.
Stephen Ngila from Machakos County in southern Kenya was yesterday arrested and charged with attempted murder, after attacking his wife Jackline Mwende almost two weeks ago, according to the women’s rights organization Equality Now.
“This is a particularly shocking case for Kenya... even though domestic violence is rampant,” said Naitore Nyamu of Equality Now.
Ngila cut off his wife’s hands and hacked her head with a machete after a dispute about the fact that she had not fallen pregnant in seven years of marriage, local media said.
The 34-year-old told Mwende, 27, “today is your last day” before attacking her, said the Daily Nation newspaper, which published a video of the victim with a deep gash on her head, and stumps where her hands once were, wrapped in bandages.
Mwende said she was surprised by the attack, as doctors told the couple that she was fertile, while Ngila was impotent.
The Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) said Ngila should be immediately investigated and prosecuted.
“We are angered by the escalating cases of violence against women in the country... and that nothing has been done about it,” said FIDA Kenya’s chairwoman Josephine Mong’are.
Almost half of Kenyan women who have ever been married have been physically abused by their husbands, government data shows.
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