A senior academician at the Technical University of Kenya (TUK), was brutally hacked to death in a violent family land dispute on Tuesday morning, September 30, in Waware village, Suba North Sub-County, Homa Bay.
Prof. Thomas Tonny Onyango Mboya, 56, an Associate Professor of Mathematics and Director of the School of Mathematics and Statistics at TUK, was attacked while erecting beacons on a contested parcel of land, police confirmed.
His father, Wilson Onyango Opanga, sustained deep machete wounds during the assault and is currently admitted to a hospital in Homa Bay in critical condition.
According to investigators, the assailants believed to be the professor’s own brothers struck after a court ruling ordered the demolition of illegal structures put up on the disputed land.
Instead of complying, one of the suspects allegedly returned armed with a panga, fatally attacking the professor before turning on their elderly father.
Witnesses reported that neighbours rushed to the scene after hearing screams, but the killers fled before an irate mob could apprehend them.
Death of Onyango Mboya mourned
“By the time police arrived, the assailants had escaped. We are pursuing them and will use all means to bring them to justice,” said Nyanza Regional DCI boss George Mutonya.
The body of Prof. Mboya was taken to Homa Bay County Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary as police launched a manhunt for the suspects.
Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo condemned the incident, urging police to act swiftly and apprehend the suspects.
“The murder of Professor Thomas Mboya of Rusinga Island is unfortunate. Violence never sorts out issues. May the killer and any persons who may have aided or abetted in his death be brought to book,” she wrote on her social media account.
The death of Prof. Onyango Mboya was mourned by the residents, friends, and colleagues who condemned it.
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“It is with deep shock and sorrow that I announce the sudden and tragic passing of my beloved Patron, Prof. Thomas Tonny Onyango Mboya, Associate Professor and Director of the School of Mathematics and Statistics,” shared Rocky B in a social post.
Profile of Prof. Onyango Mboya
Prof. Mboya was a highly respected scholar in the field of mathematics.
Born in 1970, Onyango Mboya began his education at Kokuro Secondary School, where he completed his O-Levels in 1987. Two years later, he advanced to Homa Bay High School for his A-Level studies.
He went on to study at Egerton University, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Education (Science) degree.
The following year, he started his teaching career under the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).
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In 1997, he took a study leave to pursue further education, enrolling for a Master of Science degree in Mathematics at the University of Nairobi, which he completed in 1999.
He later resumed teaching before joining the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in 2002 as a lecturer.
In 2005, Prof. Mboya travelled to the United Kingdom, where he pursued doctoral studies at the University of Leeds. He was awarded a PhD in Inverse and Ill-posed Problems in 2008.
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