A middle-aged woman and her 26-year-old man have been arrested at Gatunduguru village in Kigumo, Murang'a County, over the alleged beating to death of her other son on Thursday.

The mother and her other son, are reported to have beaten the deceased, 21, at midnight.

Residents said the deceased arrived home at 12.30 am drunk and picked up a quarrel with his mother.

The deceased brother got sucked into the quarrel, which escalated into a fight.

A relative said when the deceased started arguing with his mother, it led to a commotion that saw him hit a window and break it.

The mother called for her other son, who rushed to her aid armed with a rungu and hit the deceased on the head, the relative added.

The relative further said that the deceased fell, and the two continued beating him and left him motionless on the ground.

“I found him infested by ants and removed his trousers, and put him on a mattress in my house. At night, I heard him calling out for water, and then he went silent,” adding that he then found out that he had passed away.

The mother claimed that the deceased threatened to sexually assault her and she acted out of self-defence, saying she had undergone many altercations instigated by him.

“When we were fighting last night, I did not think the issue would escalate that far. He had told me that would ensure he sexually assaulted me," the mother said.

“He has been coming to my house armed with a panga, threatening to assault me. I have an OB number in my pocket from the last time I reported him. Things have been so bad that I cannot keep anything in my house. He'd break in and take it.”

Police officers picked up the body at around 1 pm on Friday and took off with the two suspects. 

A neighbour, said all homes have internal conflicts and appealed for family members to embrace dialogue.

“They are lucky. If it were in areas, you have picked several bodies because they’d have been attacked too."