This archive report was first published on 30 September 2019.
On September 30, 2019, Peninah Wangechi, a Nyeri woman, made headlines after surviving 17 stab wounds during an alleged marital squabble with her husband Samuel Ndirangu. Seven years into their marriage, Wangechi had been hospitalised in April after the incident.
Despite the severity of the attack, Wangechi has chosen to forgive her husband and has withdrawn the charges against him in a Karatina Court. Principal Magistrate Alice Mwangi granted her request, setting Ndirangu free.
Wangechi, a mother of three, had previously narrated how she had endured abuse from her husband during an interview with The Standard in April. She had been admitted at Karatina Sub County Hospital after the attack.
According to Wangechi, the marriage had been unstable, with her husband frequently threatening to kill her. However, she had never taken the threats seriously until the night of the attack.
Wangechi recalled how her husband and a family friend had called them for a meeting seeking counsel on their marital problems. However, the quarrelling had continued till at around midnight when they engaged in a quarrel over money.
“I never took the threats seriously before, but this time he took my phone and switched it off. He then took a knife and started stabbing me,” Wangechi said.
