A village in Nandi County was on Saturday, September 19, sent into mourning after a middle-aged man hacked the father of his employer to death.
Witnesses narrated to the press that the suspect, Henry Kipchumba, slit the throat of Jairus Ruto, 70, in a tragic turn of events in Aldai Constituency in the county, killing him instantly.
They claimed that the suspect, who had worked for Ruto's son as a farmhand, was dissatisfied with his decision to fire him, prompting him to plan a revenge attack on his boss.
"I was inside the house when he (Ruto) told me to serve him dinner. He preferred having his meal outside the house.
"While taking the food to him, I heard a thud and when I rushed outside, I found his body lying on the ground and his throat cut off," revealed a woman privy to the matter.
Others painted a picture of a depressed person who mostly kept to himself before the dreadful day.
"When we saw the man, he was still visibly angry and if he had a chance, he would have harmed many others," observed another villager.
"He had worked at the home for a month. It is emerging that this man had some form of depression," added another resident urging the government to intervene.
Police in the region have launched investigations into the incident.
In July, Health Ministry Mutahi Kagwe revealed a worrying trend in depression and mental disorder cases in the country brought fourth by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The CS noted that the cases had spiked, with one in every 10 Kenyans suffering from mental illnesses of sought.
The number increased to one in every four people among patients who attend routine outpatient services.
The issue was expected to worsen as the country recorded over 1.7 million job losses at the beginning of September as a result of Covid-19 pandemic.
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