A manhunt has been launched to trace the whereabouts of a man who on Sunday, October 16, attacked a heavily pregnant woman by lodging a petrol stove at her after she shot down his romantic advances.

According to witnesses, the woman who was already married and lived with her husband at the same apartment block as the suspect in Kangema, consistently rejected his advances despite his incessant dogging.

"It is like an obsession. The suspect had been warned repeatedly by the woman's husband ... The woman had publicly told him off but he was unrelenting. It was an incident that started a month ago," a fellow tenant named Alvaro King'ori narrated.

The suspect who had had enough of the rejection, heniously threw the petrol-loaded stove at the woman, causing severe burns to her torso and limbs and was rushed to the Kangema Level Four Hospital and admitted in critical condition.

"The report is that the suspect ambushed the woman as she was coming out of the compound's pit latrine and threw a burning stove on her. She has burns on her abdomen, thighs and hands," Kangema Police boss Phillip Wambugu stated  adding that the suspect has since escaped.

It was revealed that the assailant began his obsession with the victim long before she got married when she worked as a bar attendant in 2020, and her marriage to another man in 2021 and consequent pregnancy did not deter him from making passes at her.

According to County Commissioner Karuku Ngumo, owing to the gravity of the assault especially on a pregnant woman, the matter was being treated as a serious incident of gender-based violence.

"The assailant is said to have followed the woman to the rental plot and taken a room. He started the passes at the woman which have now ended in this heinous assault," he said adding that the cruel action will not go unpunished.

As the search continues, police are also trying to trace the woman's family members who live in the neighbouring subcounty to brief them on the matter.