Mental Illness may be the reason behind rise in crimes of passion

By Winfridah Muthee

In recent times murder perpetrators are taking the lives of their lovers without blinking.

One such case is that of Caroline Nyokabi who was murdered by her 38 year old boyfriend Evans Karani in a case of love gone sour.

The guy is said to have intoxicated Nyokabi and cut her into pieces before dumping her in a thicket.

Nyokabi has since been buried.

Karani confessed to killing Nyokabi and even went ahead to ask the court to hurry up their ruling so that he can start serving his sentence.

Tuesday 20^st April a 44 year old man was arrested by Police in Ruiru after he was found with a dead body of his lover in his house.

A foul smell emanating from Munyao’s one-roomed house and a swarm of flies clustering in the suspect’s house through the ventilation, prompted neighbors to file a report with police.

Authorities who rushed to his house found the deceased wrapped in a nylon bag and placed on the bed.

Neighbors claimed that Munyao would leave the house in the morning and come back in the evening as usual as if nothing was amiss.

Police said the decomposed body was an indication that the victim was killed more than 48 hours after discovery.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the marks on the woman’s neck indicated that she had been strangled.

Even as police seek to establish what led Munyao to kill his lover it is obvious we are trending in deep waters.

Experts say that factors contributing to violence within domestic relationships are depression,economic Unsteadiness and drug abuse.

In Kenya murder/homicide rate for 2018 was 4.93, a 0.37% increase from 2017.

In one week, three women have so far been murdered by their lovers in Kiambu County alone.

A lot of these are been seen in the country right now and experts have blamed the trend on depression.

Covid-19 drawbacks are some of the reasons contributing to these incidences.

There is a rise in homicide cases and women are bearing the brunt.This is a worrying trend of a generation that is not able to resolve disagreements

Homicide is arguably the most horrifying public offence and the only crime that creates finality to human life.

The impact of murder goes far beyond the loss of life and may create fear among the public.

The government should therefore plan and implement strategies to reduce homicide and through Ministry of Health create mental health awareness and ways to mitigate it.

Let’s hope justice will be served for the victims.