A 23-year-old woman and her daughter, three, are nursing injuries at Muthale Mission Hospital in Kitui West after they were brutally attacked by a thug the woman alleged had been hired by her Catholic priest boyfriend to kill them.
Ms Veronicah Musali Mutua Wednesday said she was attacked on Monday night when she had gone to visit Father (name withheld) at his home in Muthale.
“He phoned me while I was at Thika and asked to see me together with my daughter (name withheld) but he was nowhere to be found when I arrived at a Kitui Catholic Diocese parish church, where he ministers.
“He later advised me to go to his home but he was not there. His mother chased me away prompting me to seek accommodation from their neighbor’s,” Ms Mutua told journalists amid sobs.
DISGRACE
She said the Father’s mother followed her there and forced the neighbor to evict them saying that she was a disgrace to her son and the family.
“His mother gave out Sh500 for my bus fare and threatened her neighbor that she would suffer dire consequences if she allowed us to spend the night there,” the woman, on her hospital bed, explained.
She said the woman was cowed by the threats and decided to escort them to a nearby market to board a taxi to Kabati shopping center and were attacked just a few meters away.
A man, armed with a blunt object, emerged from nowhere and started chasing them.
The man started hitting her hard on the head while the other woman took off to safety leaving them at the mercy of the assailant, according to Ms Mutua.
BROKE FINGERS
She said: “He also hit my child, who was still on my back, on the head and blood started oozing from her nose. He hit and broke my fingers as I shielded my head from the successive blows.”
“I fell down and feigned unconsciousness when it occurred to me that the attacker was determined to kill us. He was therefore convinced that he had accomplished his task and fled the scene towards the Father’s home,” she added.
The two, having sustained serious injuries following the attack, were discovered sprawling on a path by a boda boda operator, who alerted the villagers and the police, on Tuesday at 3 am.
Officers from Tulia police post immediately rushed the victims to Muthale Mission Hospital where they were given first aid and admitted for further treatment.
It is reported that trouble began when the priest denied fathering the woman’s child, who was born blind, in 2012.
GOT PREGNANT IN SCHOOL
Ms Veronicah Mutua disclosed that the two got into a sexual relationship when the Father was stationed at Nuu in Mwingi, Kitui County, but things turned ugly when she got pregnant for him while she was still a form one student at Mwambiu secondary school.
“I was always concerned that I would conceive but he advised me not to be afraid promising that he would marry me eventually. He hated me when I gave birth to a blind child and declared that he did not sire my daughter,” she recalled painfully.
The child’s paternity dispute persisted until the two resolved to have a DNA test conducted to establish whether the Father was indeed the father. The DNA test report was filed in February this year.
The report, seen by Nairobi News, showed that the said Catholic priest was indeed the girl’s biological father.
DNA REPORT
“Since the DNA report confirmed that he was Lillian’s father, he has been trying to shed us off in order to avoid parental responsibility. He said he wanted to see me so that we can discuss the way forward now that it was black and white that he is the father,” noted Ms Veronicah Musali Mutua.
She called on the government and human rights activists to intervene and ensure that they get justice as well as ensure their personal security.
“I feel that my daughter and I are in danger. We appeal to the government to protect us,” she expressed.
Efforts to contact the Father for comment were futile as phone calls and text messages went unanswered.
Kabati OCPD Juma Londo Thursday said they had commenced investigations into the matter, adding that the woman will fill a P3 form and record a statement with the police once she recovers fully.
However, he said doctors had confirmed that the mother and daughter were stable and out of danger.
“I urge those with relevant information about the attack to cooperate with the police so that those behind the crime can face the law,” he said.
