Mombasa, KENYA: A 40-year-old man was on Friday charged in a Mombasa court for allegedly assaulting his wife and causing her bodily harm for refusing his request to relocate to his rural home.
Charles Otieno Ochola was accused of hitting Mercy Wanjiku on her left limb and eye on Christmas day 2016 at Aldina-Jomvu estate.
The accused told the court that he wanted to relocate his family to his ancestral home after constructing a new house, but she refused leading to a quarrel between them.
‘We are married for 20 years and we have been staying in Mombasa.I saw the need of my wife to go live in the rural home something she did not take positively,” said Charles.
However, he shocked the court after saying he assaulted his wife as a form of disciplining her for refusing to relocate.
“Huyu bibi nilimpiga kwasababu nilimpeleka nyumbani akatoroka na hakusema ameenda wapi.Alirudi baada ya mwaka mmoja (I beat her up because I took her to my rural home but she ran away and she did not tell me where she was.She only came back after a year),” he told the court.
Ochola further told the court that he had not seen his wife since the day he allegedly assaulted her, only to see her in court on Friday.
“She left me with five Children and it has been difficult to take care and the same time go to work,” he added.
Ochola was released on a cash bail of sh.20, 000 after he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The case will be mentioned on the 20th June 2017.
