Police in Kakamega county have launched a manhunt for a man accused of attacking his wife with a machete on Monday, August 31.

Meshach Japheth, 30, reportedly hacked his 25-year-old wife, Evelyne Muchite, on the thighs and arms after a disagreement over money.

Ms Muchite, a resident of Mkavakavaka village in Malava, said her husband arrived home Monday mid-morning while drunk.

“As he was leaving, I asked him to give me money so that I could buy sugar and make breakfast for the children who were complaining of hunger. He ignored me at first. I, thereafter, told him that he was wasting money on alcohol, yet his children and I, his wife, were suffering from hunger. It was at that point that he reached for a panga and hacked me several times in the arms and thighs,” Muchite told K24 Digital.

The man reportedly escaped to an unknown destination after the incident. He is said to have developed a habit of assaulting his spouse.

The suspect’s brother, George Bush, said his sibling, who works as a mason, has a drinking problem.

“He has assaulted his wife on two previous occasions. I am afraid he will kill her the third time he abuses her physically,” said Bush, who took Evelyne to Malava Sub-County Hospital, where she was treated and discharged.