Police arrest suspect in brutal Barnabas child attack as family demands justice
Maxwell and Brightons aunt ,Teressia Muthoni , during an interview, at their home in Barnabas on May 27,2025.
Police in Nakuru East sub county are investigating an incident where two siblings were attacked in Barnabas Estate on Friday, May 23, 2025.
The two, Maxwell Ndumbia, 8, and Brighton Maina, 4, were attacked by a man believed to be working at their neighbour’s home.
Witnesses say the duo hit the man with a ball as they were playing, causing him to enter into a fit of rage.
According to Nakuru East Sub county Police Commander Samson Andanje, the suspect was arrested on Friday night.
He says the suspect was arraigned under a miscellaneous application, where detectives sought more days to complete their investigation. They were granted 14 days.
In a phone call interview with Mtaa Wangu, Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr James Waweru says the two were brought to the facility with varying degrees of injuries.
According to Dr. Waweru, Ndumbia succumbed to his injuries while doctors were attending to him, as the cuts affected some major arteries, leading to severe bleeding.
Photo of eight year old Maxwell Ndumbia, who succumbed to injuries while receiving treatment at the Nakuru County Referral and Teaching Hospital after he was attacked in Barnabas.
Maina was stabilized before he was admitted to the facility, where doctors have been attending to him closely. He is in a stable condition and is set to be discharged on Wednesday.
“Maina’s injuries were not severe when he was brought in. He has been under close observation, and his condition is stable now. He has been placed under counseling, together with his relatives who are attending to him,” he says.
When Mtaa Wangu visited Maxwell’s home, their aunt, Teressia Muthoni, was filled with grief as she narrated how she was unresponsive when she heard the news that two children in the next neighbourhood had been assaulted.
Muthoni notes she had been with Maxwell at 1 pm and they had lunch together before she asked him to go and change his school uniform so he could pick up the other children from school, as it is a norm for him.
Little did she know this would be the last time she would see the admirable and cheerful child, as she describes him.
“Max and Brighton were attacked by someone known to us in the community. Mostly, we would see him working casual jobs at our neighbour’s home and never thought he would turn against our children and cause us such pain. Max was just a class two pupil what harm would he have done to an adult to be assaulted,” she notes.
Muthoni is now pleading with the security apparatus to investigate the case and ensure justice is served for the death of Max and the injuries inflicted on Brighton.
“Brighton has lost his brother, and he watched as he was assaulted in a gruesome way. He will need a lot of psychosocial support to overcome this. One can never tell how this heinous act on his brother will affect his future. On the other hand, Max will not live up to his dream of becoming a pastor,a desire he has held dear for years,” she notes.
Muthoni is now appealing to well-wishers to help the family raise the hospital bill and cover the cost of the postmortem, which is scheduled for today, as the family is struggling financially.