Woman, 20 arrested after killing 3 children in a bizarre attack in Korogocho slums, Nairobi

NAIROBI: A 20 year old woman killed three children including a two weeks old infant in a bizarre attack in Korogocho slums, Nairobi.

Police are holding Catherine Muthoni after she went berserk in the slum Tuesday morning and first stabbed to death her son aged 10 before she turned on two others who belonged to her neighbour.

According to police and neighbours, she strangled her neighbour's sons aged four and 14 days as their mother watched and screamed helplessly.

The motive of the incident is yet to be established but police are investigating it.

Witnesses said the mother of the other two children had a wound on her belly following a caesarean procedure during the delivery of the 14 days old child.

"She did not have energy to fight the raging woman when she struck and it seems she was pushed off before the children were grabbed," said a neighbour.

Other locals said the mother of the slain children had tried to fight the assailant woman in vain as she was hit in the wound grounding her.

The mother of the two children was bleeding from her wound when police and neighbours rushed to the house where the incident happened.

Nairobi deputy County boss Joseph Limo said the woman was rushed to hospital for medical attention on her wound.

"We are holding the accused woman before she appears in court to face charges. Her mental status will have to be checked first. We have no motive for now," said Limo.

A witness said police on patrol in the area saved the woman from an irate mob that wanted to lynch her after learning of the deaths.

The mob had cornered the alleged assailant woman when police rushed to her rescue in the 9 am incident.

A crowd surged at the scene soon after news of the deaths went round in the slum.

Police arrived later at the scene and confirmed the ten-year-old boy had been stabbed to death while the other two were strangled by hands.

Emotions ran high as police carried the bodies of the children from the scene to the mortuary.

Such incidents are on the rise in slums.