Body of mother who plunged her three children in River Nzoia found

Bodies of two children and their mother who is believed to have thrown them into River Nzoia and then jumped in have been found.

Winny Kulangwa, 24, is suspected to have thrown her three children aged one and four years into the swollen river before jumping into it at around 9pm on Sunday.

One child aged seven years survived the ordeal. A search for the bodies started on Monday, and yesterday evening, the bodies of Kulangwa and that of the one-year-old child were retrieved from the river.

The incident happened nine days after a woman in Naivasha allegedly killed her four children. Kulangwa's family had said on Tuesday that the deceased had not shown signs of depression. Police in Bungoma North have however linked the killings to a protracted domestic quarrel.

Sirakaru Location Chief Kennedy Wamalwa yesterday said the one-year-old boy was still tied to his mother’s back at the time the bodies were discovered. Wamalwa said the body of the four-year-old was discovered yesterday at noon.

“It has been five days of searching. We are glad their bodies have been found to give police time to begin investigations into what may have forced the mother to throw all her children into the river,” he said.

The chief said divers deployed by Kakamega County and Kenya Red Cross Society discovered the bodies four kilometres away from Nzoia River Bridge.

Bungoma North Sub-County Police Commander Stephen Mwoni said preliminary investigations indicate the mother may have been stressed by a domestic feud with her husband. “We want to know what made a mother plunge her children into a swollen river,” he said.