Man shoots lover, turns gun on self

A 30-year-old man shot dead his girlfriend in Kisii town last Friday before he turned the gun on himself.

According to the police, Vincent Mosioma Michieka shot Veronica Kerubo using a Berrera pistol which was recovered at the scene with 13 rounds of ammunition and two spent cartridges.

The suspect, who shot himself in the head, was rushed to Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH) but was pronounced dead on arrival.

The bodies were moved to KTRH morgues awaiting post-mortem examination.

Kisii County Police Commander Charles Kasses confirmed the Friday evening incident.

Kasses said investigators had established that the firearm was illegal.

It is not clear what angered Mosioma, a graduate of the University of Nairobi and the last born in a family of four siblings.

However, his friends say he had shared information claiming Kerubo had opted to end their relationship and had been angered by the fact that she was seeing a business tycoon within the town.

Close friends of the two said Kerubo and Mosioma had been in an on-and-off relationship for years even though the man had been married with two children.

Photos posted on Kerubo’s timeline and from one dated September 2021 showed that the two, alongside two of their friends, had travelled to Jinja, Uganda.

According to family members who spoke to The Nairobian, Kerubo was running a successful glass mart business in town.

Kerubo cut the life of a quiet but hardworking woman who had partnered with Mosioma in their business.

Mosioma had taken over the glassmart business from his father who had left the country to seek greener pastures in one of the European countries.

As the business blossomed, Kerubo is said to have ventured into the medium-density fibreboard commonly referred to as MDF board business.

In a short span, she emerged as a major supplier of the boards within Kisii town and other adjacent towns.

Before her killing, she had acquired two new light lorries referred as Canter for the expansion of her business.

An active social media user, through her Facebook Account, Kerubo in July last year wrote: “Toxic relationships are dangerous to your health; they will kill you. Stress shortens your lifespan. Even a broken heart can kill you.”

In the post, she said: “There is an undeniable mind-body connection. Your arguments and hateful talk can land you in the emergency room or the morgue. You were not meant to live in a fever of anxiety; screaming yourself hoarse in a frenzy of dreadful, panicked fight-or-flight that leaves you exhausted and numb with grief.”

She did say that human beings were not meant to live like animals tearing one another to shreds. “For your own precious and beautiful life, and those around you, seek help or get out before it is too late.”

Kerubo’s friend identified as Wakili Kipchumba said that he had known the late for 10 years.

“In times like these, we must ask ourselves, what happened to seeking the truth? What happened to start over? Why must a failed relationship end in such tragic violence?” he posed.

“We must begin a serious conversation about femicide in Kenya. Men need to understand that they do not own anyone; not their wives, not their children. No one owns anyone,” said Kipchumba.