HOMA BAY– A respected university lecturer was hacked to death on Tuesday in western Kenya during a violent land dispute that has shocked both the academic community and his rural village.
Professor Thomas Tonny Onyango Mboya, 56, an associate professor at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), was attacked while marking boundaries on contested family land in Waware village, Suba North. Police said he was killed on the spot, while his elderly father was left with life-threatening injuries.
The assailants, believed to be his own brothers, are now on the run.
According to witnesses, tensions boiled over after a court ruling ordered one of the brothers to demolish structures he had built on the disputed parcel. Instead of complying, he allegedly confronted Prof. Mboya with a machete.
“He attacked suddenly, cutting down his brother before turning on their father,” said George Mutonya, the Nyanza Regional Head of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. “By the time police arrived, the attackers had escaped, but we are pursuing them by all means.”
Residents raised the alarm, but the suspects fled before a crowd could intervene. Prof. Mboya’s father, Wilson Onyango Opanga, was rushed to Homa Bay County Hospital, where doctors said he remains in critical condition.
The killing has drawn widespread condemnation. Suba North Member of Parliament Millie Odhiambo called it “unfortunate and senseless,” adding on social media: “Violence never sorts out issues. May the killer and any persons who may have aided or abetted in his death be brought to book.”
Friends and colleagues described Prof. Mboya as a dedicated scholar and a kind man. Born in 1970, he rose from local schools in Homa Bay to international academia, earning his PhD in applied mathematics at the University of Leeds in 2008. He returned home to teach and later became director of the School of Mathematics and Statistics at TUK.
“He was brilliant, but also humble,” said a fellow lecturer at the university, who requested not to be named. “His death is not only a personal tragedy but a loss to the academic community.”
Land disputes remain one of the leading causes of violent deaths in Kenya, particularly in rural areas where inheritance lines often spark bitter family feuds. Police say investigations are under way, but residents fear the case may highlight a wider problem.
For now, Waware village is in mourning. The professor’s colleagues are calling for justice, while his father battles for survival in hospital.
About the Author
