A 32-year-old mother is being held by police in Rachuonyo South, Homa Bay County, Kenya, on charges that she killed her one-day-old baby by drowning it in a pool of water and then burying it in a neighboring farm.
On Saturday night, January 13, 2024, the lady and her child were taken into custody after the woman’s and her child’s prolonged absence during the day raised suspicions among the neighbors.
They informed a village elder about their concerns, and Collins Joram, the assistant chief of Kamuma Sub-location, was prompted to look into the situation.
It was disclosed that the mother gave birth on Thursday, January 11, and that on Saturday, January 13, the infant sadly passed away. The body was placed in a box and buried in a shallow grave that was covered with earth by the suspect in an attempt to hide it. The culprit made a successful birth, according to Mr. Joram, in a community health promoter’s home.
“She was helped by a community health promoter and had a successful birth within the village. “It was a female,” the administrator said. The baby who passed away was the mother’s fourth child. The other three kids claimed to have witnessed their mother putting the baby in a basin of cold water on Friday with the intention of drowning her.
When the kids got home from school later that day, they didn’t realize what had happened, and they assumed their brother was asleep. The suspect then claimed to have asked her daughter, who is in sixth grade, for assistance in going with her to a neighboring deserted farm. They reportedly walked at least a kilometer there before burying the baby in a box.
On Saturday, when they didn’t see the mom nursing the child, the neighbors became suspicious and started asking questions. After more research, it was discovered that the woman and her spouse had separated roughly three years prior. When the man was questioned, he denied knowing about the child’s existence.
