Mother drowns three children before killing self in Chemosit river, Kericho

KERICHO, KENYA: Shock and grief gripped Kaplelgo village in Bureti constituency in Kericho County after a mother threw her three children along Chemosit/Kipranye river before drowning herself too.

Kisiara location chief Richard Ngeno said the 23-year-old woman, Lillian Chelangat took the children, Enock Kipkemoi, 6, Mercy Cherotich, 3, and nine month old Zipporah Cheptoo to the river at 3pm on Saturday and threw them to the river before jumping into the river too..

"At 3pm, area village elder called me over the incident and we immediately mobilised villagers to begin a search and rescue mission but we have since been unable to recover even a single body of the deceased because of the depth of the water and the rapid currents of the river," he said.

Ngeno appealed to the government to dispatch professional divers to the location to assist the villagers in their attempt to recover  bodies of the deceased.

A distraught Chelangat's mother 64- year old Gladys Tonui was still trying to come to terms with the tragic loss of her daughter and three grandchildren at one swoop.

"How I wish my daughter would have even spared one of my grandchildren to be helping me around look after goats," she said amid sobs.

She disclosed that Chelangat had arrived at her maternal home at 11am the fateful day complaining that domestic problems had drove her back home.

"My daughter came home complaining that her husband was abusive and had neglected the family. She however, refused to share all the details and I welcomed her and told her to settle down first then we would address the matter later," she said.

Mrs Tonui added that her daughter unpacked her bags and prepared lunch for the whole family before claiming that she wanted to fetch water from the river and went with her children.

"I did not suspect anything sinister as she told her children they accompany her to fetch water in the river," she said.

A member of Catholic Women Peace Makers, Susan Rotich said the number of suicide incidents in the county were on the rise and appealed to Governor Paul Chepkwony administration to consider employing counselors to assist residents undergoing a myriad of problems.