A 33-year-old ECDE teacher at Gatete Primary School in Mbeere South Sub County of Embu County is recovering from serious injuries in a ghastly attack by family members who have accused of witchcraft.
Peter Nyaga Ivara, was wrestled by his two nephews who dragged him to their homestead and set him on fire.
“I left school as usual at around 4:10 pm. It’s walking, about five kilometres to Karura trading centre where I took some time to rest before heading home. It is while walking home that I found my two nephews who had waylaid me and they wrestled me down,” Nyaga said.
He was saved by a woman passing by who pleaded with the two men not to harm him.
“They dragged me and forced me to follow them against my will. We have had family conflicts in the past which led me to relocate. I even transferred from my earlier school, Rutumbi Primary School that is near our extended family home,” Nyaga added.
His stepbrothers and sisters also attacked him accusing him of being a witch and possessing evil spirits.
“One of my nephews doused me with petrol while a niece lit the fire but I managed to escape and removed the shirt that was on fire. However, due to my disability, the two nephews caught up with me wrestled me down and lit the fire again before the public came to my rescue,” he alleges.
The family has had a lengthy conflict that made his mum relocate to a new place. The conflict began in 2019 when her sister was involved in an accident.
“My stepfamily has been jealous of the fortunes that I acquired through my hard work as a teacher and are willing to bring him down at all costs. The easiest way is to associate me with witchcraft that I do not know about,” he said.
He is also appealing to the County government to transfer him to a school far away from his stepmothers’ homestead.
Gregory Mutiso the Sub-county Police Commander Mbeere South said police are investigating the matter.
“We are waiting for Nyaga to get out of the hospital to help identify the attackers who will be charged with assault after police complete investigations,” said the police commander.
