A body of a 70-year-old widow was on Saturday, January 7, recovered by a herdsman on the banks of river Awach along Ringa-Oyugis road within Homa Bay County a day after she went missing.
The woman identified as Rosalia Ngeso was a resident of Kojuok B village in Kojwach Kawere Sub-location, Kojwach location in Rachuonyo East Sub-county is suspected to have been brutally murdered over a land dispute.
The deceased's body was recovered about 12 kilometres away from her home at the boundary between Kojwach Kamuga and Kojwach Kamiyoro sub-locations in the same location.
The body was found with deep cuts on the head while other parts of the body also had injuries, raising suspicion that she was killed.
Land dispute
Area Assistant Chief Isaiah Ondoro said there was suspicion that the widow might have been killed over a land dispute.
Ondoro said the woman had a land dispute with some of her distant family members over the inheritance of her piece of land.
“The elderly woman is someone who could hardly engage in squabbles with anybody. What raises suspicion is that the woman’s land had elicited disputes over who could inherit it," the administrator said.
The issue of the inheritance had caused controversies among the family members for a long time saying a thorough investigation needs to be done to come to the root cause of the matter," he added.
No suspect has been arrested in connection with the suspected murder of the elderly woman.
“The widow’s death needs thorough investigations following some information we are getting from the village with regard to the land issue,” Ondoro said.
The administrator however cautioned the residents to avoid taking the law into their hands saying there is a proper channel which can be followed to solve family disputes.
“Let residents seek legally acceptable methods of arbitration instead of taking the law into their hands. Otherwise, the law will take its cause,” Ondoro said.
He said the security officers have already taken over the issue and the investigations are already ongoing.
Residents described the woman as one who could hardly engage in an altercation with anybody in the area.
“We are surprised to find that she is dead. It was not easy to find her squabbling with anybody," a resident noted.
The body was moved to the Rachuonyo South Sub-county Hospital mortuary in Oyugis town for preservation.
