A man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after attacking his wife with a machete over his inability to raise the dowry required to take her back home.
The 35-year-old, identified as Leli Ngao, was found guilty of grievous harm by Senior Resident Magistrate Joy Mutimba at the Kwale Law Courts after the prosecution proved the charge beyond reasonable doubt.
The court heard that Ngao attacked his wife, Milongo Piru, at Nyango Village in Kinango Sub-County on April 28, 2024, shortly after the couple attended a church service.
After the service, Piru went to fetch water from a church member's house across the road, but Ngao, who was carrying their 19-month-old child, followed her and called her outside to talk.
He reportedly told her that he could not afford the dowry required to take her back home and would rather kill her.
Ngao then pulled out a machete concealed around his waist and slashed Piru twice on the left hand as she screamed for help.
As she struggled to escape, she dropped the child and sustained further injuries to her right palm while trying to block the weapon before being cut on the head as she fled.
Ngao escaped into the wilderness, leaving his wife seriously injured, while her mother and other church members responded to her cries…
