The family of John Mutinda, the man whose saloon car plunged into the Indian ocean at the Likoni channel has claimed that he was a depressed man who endured abuse from wife for years.
Mutinda, aged 46, died on Saturday morning when he drove into the Likoni channel for unknown reasons.
The wife, Ruth Mueni claimed that he had had a weird dream where he received a phone call from his late father thus prompting him to leave home in a hush.
He arrived at the channel at 4.20am, according to the Kenya Ferry Services and was speeding and when asked to stop at the ticketing booth he declined.
According to the Nation, the mother of the deceased, Musangi Mutinda accuses the wife of hiding the truth to the public.
The mother, during an interview at her Kyanika village, Kitui County disclosed that the son had been under depression and abuse from the wife, quoting a recent incident where he was allegedly burnt with hot water in November.
Musangi also added that her son was still recovering from the burn that inflicted severe injuries.
“My son died out of depression and despair because of the domestic violence and marital anguish he endured at home. It is, therefore, wrong for his wife to insinuate he had gone mad,” said the devastated mother.
Mutinda insinuated that her son decided to take his own life because life with his wife was unbearable, and called upon the authorities to investigate her daughter-in-law with the claims that she might have pushed him to his death.
“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,” she added.
However, the deceased mother added that her son was released without charges, a move that she questioned.
The narrative according to the other siblings of the deceased was based on claims that he was mad and suffered from depression.
The siblings expressed their disappointment and regret on not intervening earlier enough to save their kin from what they termed a devastating marriage.
