Man Who Beat Wife Over Sukumawiki Tells Court she Wanted to Curse him

A man pleaded guilty to slapping his wife twice in succession for serving him too much sukuma wiki and for attempting to curse him.

Collins Mudaida, a gardener in Lavington, Nairobi, appeared before senior principal magistrate Derrick Kutto of Kibera law courts on Wednesday.

He defended his actions saying his wife, Mercy Kangehi, tried to cast a spell on him at their home in Kangemi, Westlands.

The prosecution told the court that on April 1, 2021, Mudaida returned home at around 9 pm and was served ugali and Sukuma wiki. He, however, picked a quarrel claiming that the wife had served him too much sukumawiki.

Prosecution counsel Nancy Kerubo said Mudaida poured the stew into his wife’s plate.

“He complained of being served with too much sukuma wiki and in response, the wife told him he had not bought any food in the house,” Kerubo said.

The quarrel escalated, with Mudaida telling Kangehi that his mother had found him another wife. He reportedly asked her to leave and she, in turn, asked what would happen to their two children.

The accused said he would organise how to take care of them and became angry after his wife questioned him about having another wife.

During the argument, Mudaida lost his temper and descended on her with blows and kicks, injuring her on private parts and spinal cord before neighbours intervened.

In mitigation, Mudaida told the court that he beat up Mercy Kegehi for cursing him against Luhya traditions.

“She removed her clothes, then held my child on her lap and told me that I will never get another woman pregnant,” he said, adding: “She also sat on my bed and table naked saying that my generation was completely over.”

“I only beat her because she cursed my generation, your honour, you know very well what the Luhya culture entails,” he added.

But the magistrate was having none of it and asked him to stop generalising the community in the case.

“Mr accused just stop that, don’t say Luhyas in this matter because you are very wrong,” Kuto said.

The magistrate ordered for a social inquiry report to be tabled on Friday before sentencing Mudaida.

source http://nairobiwire.com/2021/04/man-who-beat-wife-over-sukumawiki-tells-court-she-wanted-to-curse-him.html