A dispute over a patch of land in Homa Bay has ended in bloodshed. Police are hunting for a primary school headteacher accused of hacking a retired colleague to death and leaving the victim’s wife fighting for her life in a hospital bed.

The quiet village of Gem Sori Kachiena was shattered on Sunday when the suspect, a respected educator in Rangwe, allegedly turned executioner. The victim, identified only as Owuoth, had just returned from church to find his neighbour grazing cattle on his maize farm—a deliberate provocation that ignited a deadly confrontation.

The Sunday Slaughter

According to area chief Peter Oula, the violence was not spontaneous but the culmination of a simmering boundary feud. The suspect reportedly lay in wait, occupying the farm until Owuoth returned. What followed was a brutal assault using crude weapons. "I went there and found two clubs, one of which was broken," Chief Oula revealed, describing a scene of frenzied violence.

Owuoth, who had retired in 2025 hoping for a peaceful sunset to his life, was rushed to Kisii Referral Hospital. He died moments after admission, his injuries too severe to survive. His wife, who attempted to intervene, remains in critical condition, a living witness to the horror.

• The Suspect at Large: The headteacher fled the scene immediately after the attack and remains a fugitive. Police have launched a manhunt, but his disappearance has left the community in fear.
• Land Conflict Epidemic: This tragedy is the latest in a wave of land-related murders in the region, where unresolved boundary disputes frequently turn fatal, tearing families and neighbours apart.

A Community in Shock

The murder has sent shockwaves through the local teaching fraternity. That a headteacher—a custodian of discipline and values—could be capable of such brutality is a disturbing commentary on how deep land grievances run in rural Kenya. The dispute had reportedly been festering for months, a ticking time bomb that authorities failed to defuse.

As the family prepares to bury Owuoth, they are demanding swift justice. The "mwalimu" is now a murder suspect, and the lesson he has taught his community is one of irreversible tragedy.