Nairobi police have launched a manhunt for a father suspected of beating his teenage daughter Shirleen Nyangweso to death at his Dandora home. The Grade 8 pupil died from severe traumatic injuries to her head and chest following the assault. Her mother has described how he abandoned her at a hospital before fleeing.
Shirleen Nyangweso, a Grade 8 pupil, died after a brutal assault by her father at their home in Dandora, Nairobi. According to her biological mother, Shirleen had been staying with her from December 26 to 31 during the Christmas holidays, before the father picked her up following a quarrel. "When I made the call, the stepmother was the one who picked it up. My daughter later told me that she had been beaten by her dad, but asked me to come and pick her up the next day," the mother stated.
The girl was reportedly caned repeatedly as punishment for visiting her biological mother. She collapsed in the middle of the night, after which the father rushed her to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital and allegedly dumped her body before disappearing. On January 1 at around 7 am, the father called the mother and asked her to meet him at the hospital, saying the child was in a bad state. "He made sure I arrived at the hospital before he hung up and switched off his phone. To date, his phone is unreachable," the mother told Citizen TV.
At the hospital, the mother saw Shirleen's head badly swollen with blood on her forehead, and marks on her hands and legs suggesting she had been tied during the beating. The stepmother, who witnessed the assault, told investigators that the father did not intend to beat the girl to death, claiming it happened by mistake. An autopsy confirmed Shirleen died from traumatic injuries to the head, chest, and other body parts.
Police have initiated a manhunt for the suspect. Neighbors and the community have condemned the killing and demanded justice. "We need to help the mother bury her daughter, and from there we pursue justice for Shirleen," said one neighbor.
