A middle-aged man has been charged with assault after he allegedly stabbed his estranged wife during a row over custody of their three-year-old child.

Boniface Kongo, 27, is reported to have stabbed Faith Shitangale on the neck and left ear at her employer’s house in Kilimani, Nairobi on January 18. He was charged with causing her grievous bodily harm.

The prosecution told the court Kongo had traveled from Naivasha to Nairobi to see his child. His ex-wife, however, told him that she had taken the child to live with her sister in Nakuru because her employer would not allow her to bring the child with her.

Kongo then traveled to Nakuru but soon realised that he had been duped; he was informed that the child was taken to Faith’s rural home in Kakamega.

An agitated Kongo returned to Nairobi and confronted his ex-wife for taking him round in circles. An argument ensued during which the suspect picked a kitchen knife and stabbed Faith twice.

He appeared before senior principal magistrate Esther Bhoke of Kibera law courts and denied the charges. He was released on a Sh200,000 bond and an alternative cash bail of Sh60,000.

The case will be mentioned on February 8.