The authorities have launched a manhunt for a Nairobi man who is suspected of murdering his teenage daughter Shirleen Nyangweso after he subjected her to a violent attack in his house in the Dandora area.
Nine-year-old Shirleen, a grade 8 pupil, is reported to have succumbed to injuries she suffered from being badly beaten by her father, accompanied by her step-mother. This incident has provoked anger among the citizens who had been demanding justice for children being abused in their homes.
As narrated by the biological mother of the girl, it was during the December holidays that the incidents that led to Shirleen’s death happened. During that time, Shirleen had visited her. She had earlier been married to the suspect for 14 years before they got a divorce. After that, they gave her children to her ex-husband.
Shirleen remained with her mother from the 26th of December to the 31st. It is alleged that on the last day of the year, the suspect went to pick her up because of a dispute which arose between the two parties.
“So when I made the call, it was actually the stepmother who answered it,” said the mother. “My daughter has later on informed me that she has been beaten by her father, but she asked me to come and pick her up the following day.”
The girl was reportedly punished for visiting her biological mother. Later that evening, Shirleen is said to have collapsed at the family’s home in Dandora.
She was rushed to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital by her father, who left her before he went missing.
It was on the morning of January 1, about 7:00am, that the man is said to have called the girl’s mother, telling her that the girl was in a critical condition, then asking for her to meet him at the hospital.
“He made sure that I reached the hospital before he finally hung up and turned off his phone. To this day, his phone is not reachable,” the mother tearfully told Citizen TV.
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The mother reported at the hospital that the girl was unresponsive and had visible injuries. Additionally, she claimed that her daughter’s hands and legs showed signs of having been restrained during the beating.
According to information, the stepmother, believed to be a witness to the attack, said of the father that he did not mean for his child to die.
However, an autopsy later carried out has shown that Shirleen died as a result of traumatic wounds on the head, chest, and other areas of the body, contrary to reports of the incident being unintentional.
The neighboring communities have reacted to the murder, which they have termed as heartbreaking and unacceptable.
“We have to take actions to bury this mother’s child. And then we have to seek justice for Shirleen,” said one neighbour. The Police have reported that the investigative processes continue, urging the suspect to surrender, as the search to bring the suspect to justice increases.
