Two people killed in Kilifi palm wine joint fight, including suspected attacker

Two men died following a violent altercation at a palm wine drinking den in Kassava Village, Ganze Sub-County, Kilifi County, on Thursday morning.

The incident, which occurred at around 6am on October 29, left a 65-year-old man dead after he was allegedly stabbed several times, while the suspected attacker was lynched by members of the public.

According to police, the confrontation began when two revellers, identified as Katana Kitsau, 40, and Hamisi Kaingu Kenga, alias Kababa, 37, got into an argument over a woman who was also drinking at the local establishment.

The disagreement reportedly escalated into a physical fight, during which Kaingu allegedly drew a knife and stabbed Kitsau in the abdomen.

The commotion attracted other patrons who attempted to intervene. However, the suspect allegedly turned on another reveller, Charles Orickson Menza, 65, stabbing him several times in the chest and once in the abdomen, police and witnesses said.

Menza succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

Members of the public subsequently disarmed Kaingu before turning on him and stoning him to death, according to the police report.

Meanwhile, Kitsau was rushed to Kilifi Hospital, where he is receiving treatment in critical condition.

Police said no exhibits had been recovered by the time the incident was reported, adding that investigations were underway to establish the full circumstances surrounding the violence.

The incident is being investigated as a suspected murder and mob injustice case.

And a 43-year-old man died after being found with serious head injuries at Githioro Junction in Kahuro, Murang’a County, following a suspected assault.

The deceased, identified as Oleste Irungu Kiende, was found lying by the roadside early October 29, before being rushed to Muriranjas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Police officers who later visited the hospital mortuary observed several injuries on the body, including deep cuts on both sides of the forehead, a cut on the left ear, a deep wound on the nose and bruises on the right hand.

Preliminary investigations indicate that the deceased had been involved in a disagreement with a man at Joy Monjos Pub in Jolly Shopping Centre on Wednesday.

The two reportedly engaged in a confrontation, during which the man allegedly assaulted the deceased before members of the public intervened and separated them.

Investigators subsequently visited Githioro Junction, where they found blood scattered on the tarmac and additional bloodstains on the ground near a boda boda shelter on the right side of the road.

A bloodstained stone suspected to have been used in the attack was recovered at the scene and secured as an exhibit.

Investigators also recovered the deceased’s shoes approximately 50 metres from the scene, as well as a brown right-foot open shoe suspected to belong to the suspect.

The items were collected as exhibits, while Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) personnel processed and documented the scene.

The suspect was arrested in connection with the incident as investigations continue.

The deceased’s body was preserved at Muriranjas Sub-County Hospital mortuary pending a postmortem examination to establish the cause of death.

read;