Police are searching for a man suspected to have butchered his two sons over marital disputes before fleeing in Kiawambeu village, Murang'a County.
The suspect, James Gitau, who is a secondary school teacher is said to have separated from his wife six months ago due to domestic issues.
But on Tuesday, he allegedly picked up his two sons aged five and two claiming he wanted to spend the night with them.
The five-year-old was an ECDE learner while the two-year-old was living with his aunt.
Residents said before he committed the heinous offence at 11 pm, Gitau called his estranged wife through his mother’s mobile phone for over 10 minutes.
He then allegedly proceeded to his mother’s house where they were sleeping, woke them up and took them to his one-roomed house.
A neighbour, Joseph Njuguna, said Gitau’s mother knocked on their door while panting, asking him to open the door as she was afraid he would harm her.
Once inside, the grandmother narrated how her son had butchered her grandsons and together with another neighbour, they went up to the local assistant chief’s home where they reported the matter.
“We came back with the assistant chief, the chief and some police officers and opened the door to Gitau’s room to find the boy’s bodies on the bed, beheaded”.
Njuguna said after realizing that the suspect had fled, they thought he could have committed suicide and searched for him in nearby farms and rivers.
“He must be hiding somewhere nearby and could be waiting for nightfall to traverse the village. Our plea is to the police to ensure they arrest him since we don’t know what else he could be planning to do."
Assistant Chief Jason Hiuhu said Gitau's mother protested his decision to take the boys from her house but he overpowered her.
“She could not find her mobile phone at some point and after looking for it, went to his room and found him nervously clutching onto something”.
“She left him alone and went back to her house, and returned to his room minutes later to find it partially locked from the outside and when she opened the door, she was shocked to see the lifeless bodies of the two boys."
Murang’a County Commander David Mathiu confirmed that a dragnet has been laid for the suspect.
“It seems he was on a vengeance mission and ended up harming innocent children,” he said.
He urged residents to seek the counsel of the clergy and administrators when encountering marital disputes.
Mathiu noted that cases of murders in homes have been on the rise and asked locals to report to the police in case of domestic violence.