John Mutinda the man who plunged into the Likoni Channel on 7th Saturday after speedingly driving into the Indian Ocean was a disturbed abused man.

In an interview with the nation at her Kyanika home in Kitui county, the deeply grieving mother made revelations that her son John Mutinda was recovering from depression and severe burns inflicted by his wife scalding him with hot water just a month ago.

When the wife, Ms Mueni, was contacted for a comment, she acknowledged that they indeed had marriage issues but could not speak further and requested the media to let her mourn and her husband to rest in peace.

The family of John Mutinda who died after driving into the Indian ocean, Likoni Channel last week had endured several instances and years of domestic abuse from his wife.

On Tuesday, the mother of the deceased accused her son's wife of giving false information on the issue and being too mean with the truth about death. The mother accused the woman of inflicting burns on his son who was at the time of the accident was recovering from the severe burns of hot water from her wife.

Marital Anguish

The Mother was recorded saying " my son died from depression and despair because of domestic violence and marital anguish at his home".

"It is therefore out of order and totally wrong for his wife, MS Mueni, to put forth sentiments that the husband had gone mad and received a call from his late grandfather to meet up."

Mrs Musangi Mutinda, John Mutinda's mother, during the interview on December 10, 2019. PHOTO | KITAVI MUTUA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

How Did the Incident Happen?

On Saturday 7th December, the man stormed out of his house in Vanga Estate, Mombasa, at around 4 am, got into his vehicle Toyota Allion, sped off towards the Likoni crossing, and drove into the ocean.

According to his relative, Bernard Kieti, he told his wife that he had ''received a call from his late father'' before leaving the house in a huff.

“He was saying things that his wife could not comprehend when he left. The wife tried in vain to stop him,” Mr Kieti, who spoke on behalf of the family, said during an interview at the crossing.

MOTHER'S CLAIMS

The mother claimed that the death of his son was caused by his wife and emanated from the torture and domestic abuse which prompted him to terminate his life since they had become unbearable.

While displaying photographs of her son, with burn wounds all over his chest, Mrs Mutinda said the wife’s misrepresentation of facts aggravated the pain of losing the father of three children.

“After she scalded him with hot water, she rushed to lodge a complaint at Central Police Station in Mombasa, prompting police to lock up my son for four days," the mother said, adding he was released without charges.

Mrs Mutinda urged police in Mombasa to investigate her daughter-in-law over the alleged domestic abuse and release the findings of the post-mortem for the truth to be known.

Her story was corroborated by the victim's siblings, who rejected the narrative of mental disturbance but regretted not intervening earlier to keep him from giving up on his life.

Mueni's Response

After the media reached out to Mueni for her response of the issue, she admitted and explained that they had marital issues for some time but insisted that she should be let free to mourn her husband's death.

However, she declined to comment on why she scalded his husband with hot water only reprimanding that she needed time to explain the issue to her mother-in-law and brothers who had complained and raised an alarm.

“Who has given you those photos? This is a private family issue. I cannot talk at the moment because I am at a police station organising the postmortem," she said, adding the media should not bother her as she mourns her husband.