Horror for youngster as he watches father stabbed to death

A three -year-old boy watched helplessly as a knife-wielding man attacked his father, stabbing him to death, as he was being escorted to a day care centre on Monday morning at Mradi Area of Mathare, Nairobi.

The deceased, Michael Oworo 32, one of the latest victims of violent robberies in the city, was attacked at around 5.40am along Mkulima Road near Baraka Hospital when he was escorting his only child to the centre before he could proceed to a construction site where he worked as a mason.

Residents who responded to the cries of help from the victim and rushed to the scene found the body lying in a pool of blood, the toddler crying, with his packed lunch of ugali and omena strewn at the scene.

Preliminary investigations have identified the attacker as Alphonse alias ‘Ali’ who escaped from the scene after the attack. By yesterday evening, he was yet to be arrested.

“The body had a stab wound on the chest inflicted by a sharp object. The motive of the murder is yet to be established,” police said.
Commotion

Locals said they heard commotion and screams at dawn morning and when they rushed to the scene to establish the source they stumbled on the body of Oworo lying in a pool of blood.

The minor, who was not injured, was found crying next to the father who was bleeding profusely, gasping for breath. An assessment of the scene indicated that the victim could have tried to fight off the attack leading to the fatal stabbing.

“It is possible the deceased put up a fight, and it’s not clear if the thugs stole anything,” a local resident, Felix Popo, said.

Another neighbor identified as Irene said they rushed outside together with other neighbours to try and help the man. They called an ambulance which arrived minutes later. He was however pronounced dead at the scene by the ambulance attendants.

“I flashed my torch and immediately recognized the victim as my neighbour. I also saw his child crying. The little boy looked helpless, as the dad gasped for breath. Unfortunately, he succumbed to the stab wound before an ambulance could arrive,” she said.

The locals protested, saying there have been other cases of fatal stabbings in the area, adding that the residents were living in fear.

The deceased has been described as a simple man who worked in construction sites within the area and beyond. He was a single father and had been living alone with the son since he was three months old.

The residents protested the incident as they raised concerns over rising cases of insecurity in Mathare 4A, area.