Mother surrenders to police after killing son in lodging, Makueni

A woman has surrendered to the police after killing her 11-year-old son in a shocking incident at a lodging in Mumbuni, Makueni county.

Police said the woman spared her two other children aged six and three in the incident that happened on March 22.

The motive of the murder was not immediately known.

Police said the woman had on March 21 night checked into a lodging accompanied by her three children.

The following day, she reportedly walked out to buy toothpaste in a nearby shop. After she delayed, the manager of the facility told police she went into the room to inquire and found it unlocked.

Inside she found two children sitting on the bed while the third one was unconscious.

Police were called and confirmed the deceased was a Grade 4 pupil at Miau Primary School. His body lay on the bed. It had visible marks on the neck believed to have been out of strangulation.

The police said the other two boys were fine and seated next to the body when the caretaker arrived.

They seemed unaware their brother was dead, police said.

The body was moved to the mortuary pending postmortem as the family of the children was contacted to take their custody pending investigations

The woman later surrendered to Machakos police station several kilometers away from where she committed the crime.

She was detained pending transfer to Makueni for processing and possible arraignment.

Police said they are investigating the incident.

A team set up to pursue the matter wants to establish what motivated the woman’s actions.

The woman will be taken for among others, psychiatric tests as part of the probe into the murder, police said.

In Kipkaren, Nandi county, one Bethwel Kiptanii, 26, was found dead with a wound on his left side of the neck.

The motive of the attack was not immediately known, police said as they moved the body to the mortuary pending other procedures.

Murder cases have been on the rise amid efforts to solve them.

Most of the cases are linked to love triangle, land disputes and deals gone bad, police investigations show.

Police say there are efforts to solve the incidents.