A middle-aged man suspected to have killed his girlfriend at Kimulot in Sotik, Bomet has died by suicide suicide.
The body of Mathew Kirui, police say, was found dangling from a tree near a river bordering Kapset and Kimulot locations in the area two days after he allegedly committed the crime.
The body was positively identified by the public and relatives.
He was being sought by detectives from the Konoin for questioning after he allegedly stabbed the woman with an unknown object before fleeing.
The two are said to be from the same village of Kimulot.
Police managed to recover blood-stained shoes and a mobile phone belonging to the deceased (woman) at the crime scene.
The weapon used to commit the crime was, however, missing.
“The scene displayed a lot of struggle and blood was smeared on the water tank,” a report from the police reads.
The bodies of the two were taken to Kapkatet Hospital pending postmortem.
Some of the residents who spoke to the press suspect that the man may have been involved in a domestic dispute, which could have led to the tragic incident.
Police are still piecing together the details surrounding the murder and the subsequent suicide.
They have urged anyone with more information to come forward to aid in their investigation.
The murder of the woman comes amid the rising cases of femicide in the country with leaders and human rights activists calling for an end to it.
The Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (Fida) has condemned it as both heartbreaking and alarming.
“This crisis represents a gross violation of women's constitutional rights to life, safety, security and reflects systemic failures in protecting women across Kenya,” Mark Owuor, head of communications at Fida-Kenya said in a statement.
DCI boss Mohamed Amin said between 2021 and 2024, a total of 94 cases of killings of women and girls were reported to the DCI. He said 65 suspects have since been arraigned in various courts across the country in connection with the murders.
