Kilifi,KENYA:A family of 20 in Mayowe village, Jaribuni in Ganze Sub County have fled their homes over fears of an attack from neighbors just days after the brutal murder of their 70 year old father .
Their father, Chivatsi Mzungu was hacked and burnt to death in a suspected revenge attack following the death of his sister Loice Ndaa who had been killed by unknown people a few days earlier.
Mzee Chivatsi who was a village elder was killed on Sunday evening just hours after his sister Loice was laid to rest.
However his family has attributed the incident to a revenge mission saying their neighbors wrongly accused him of having a hand in the murder of his late sister .
“My aunt Loice Ndaa was hacked to death by unknown people on the night of 30th May. We took her to hospital but she died. During her burial on June 2nd, the funeral program delayed for sometime after one my cousins ( Ndaa’s son) took to the podium to declare that he would not rest till his mothers killers had been dealt with.
Chai also explains that before Mrs Ndaa was buried, word had gone round that neighbors were planning to kill a few people in Mzee Chivatsi’s family.
The reports prompted Mr Chai and his late father to lodge a complain at Ganze police station but police instead detained one of their family members ,Janet Chai for questioning but later released her.
The family members who are now living in a forest in Kauma deny any involvement in the death of their aunt but have instead blamed the death on one of their neighbors who is currently in police custody.
The said neighbor was allegedly bragging during the funeral on how he had been paid to kill Mrs Ndaa prompting a section of the villagers to hand him over to the police.
“After burial unknown people stormed our compound, attacked our father hacking and burning him to death before they set our houses on fire.Before they left, they warned my sister Janet Chai who witnessed the incident that they would deal with my family” Jackson Chai added.
When Baraka FM visited the said homestead which was once shared by the now rivaling families, the compound was deserted with the two houses that belonged to the late Mrs Ndaa remaining locked.
Ganze OCPD Patrick Ngeiywa said police had arrested two suspects who are assisting them in investigations.
“The woman was attacked on May 24th and rushed to Kilifi County hospital but she was referred to a hospital in Mombasa where she died. We immediately launched our investigations though it was hard for us to get information but during her funeral ceremony, members of the public handed over one suspect to the Administrative police. ,” Ngeiywa said.
However the OCPD said the Kilifi law courts had allowed them to detain the two suspects for a longer period to allow them complete investigations.
Mzee Chivatsi’s remains are currently lying at the Kilifi County hospital mortuary while his family is in hiding.
