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A boy aged eight had a harrowing first-hand experience when his father killed the mother on Monday night, forcing him to remain alone with the body overnight at their residence in Mlango Kubwa, Eastleigh in Nairobi county.

The father, Timothy Imbai who has since gone underground, locked them in the house from outside and escaped to an unknown destination after committing the heinous act.

Maurice Moses Mbai, a Standard Three pupil, told the police that on Monday night at around 9pm the father picked a quarrel with his mother over issues he did not understand.

He retired to bed only to wake up and find the body of his mother in a pool of blood.

The family has identified the deceased as Kasunga Malombe, aged 30.

Her brother, Mwanzia Malombe, told the police that he received a call from a certain lady who informed him that the deceased was sick and her door was locked from outside.

“When I arrived at the residence, I noticed that the door was locked from outside but there were some fresh bloodstains on the door steps. I decided to report to the police,” Mwanzia said.

All this while, the boy remained next to the mother’s body in the one-roomed house for several hours until around 9.30am when officers from Pangani Police Station arrived and broke the door open.

The boy was found crying, staring at the body of the mother.

“Officers managed to break the door and found the boy crying. The body of the mother was also found lying in a pool of blood with a deep cut on the neck,” police said.

According to neighbours, the deceased used to sell maize in the area while the man was doing some manual jobs in the estate.

Malombe is a mother of three, aged between eight and 16. During the brutal murder, only the last born was around as the other two were at their rural home.

According to neighbours who talked to the People Daily, the missing husband was a mysterious man who rarely talked to neighbours.

“He rarely talks to anyone and his dead wife is a very polite woman. For the period we have stayed with them, we have never witnessed any quarrel or disagreement between them. We are really surprised,” a neighbour said.

Police said a manhunt for the suspect had been launched.

“He is yet to be traced. Our officers recovered a bloodstained kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon and has been kept as an exhibit,” police said.

The investigation was yesterday afternoon taken over by the Starehe DCI boss.

The country has witnessed an increase in cases of murder in the recent past, according to police records.

At least 20 people have been murdered across the country in the last one week.

In Tala, Matungulu, the body of a seven-year-old girl was found floating in Kitoi Dam.