Infant dies after suspected poisoning as mother and sibling fight for life in Kisii
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Police in Kisii County are investigating a suspected murder, attempted murder and attempted suicide incident after an infant died and two family members were left in critical condition following an alleged poisoning.
The incident was reported on Friday night after medical personnel at St Catherine Ichuni Mission Hospital alerted authorities that three patients had been admitted with suspected poisoning.
Police visited the hospital and established that the victims were a 32-year-old woman and her two daughters aged three and one.
According to preliminary investigations, the children’s father rushed the victims to hospital after being informed by a neighbour that his wife had allegedly poisoned the two children before poisoning herself.
Medical personnel pronounced the younger child dead on arrival.
The mother and her three-year-old daughter were admitted to the hospital in critical condition and were still receiving treatment as investigations continued.
Police said early findings point to a domestic dispute as a possible motive behind the incident, although detectives are pursuing further inquiries to establish the circumstances that led to the tragedy.
The body of the deceased infant was moved to the St Catherine Ichuni Mission Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination.
Authorities have launched investigations into the incident as the community grapples with shock over the apparent family tragedy.
Meanwhile, police in Uasin Gishu County have launched a murder investigation following the death of a 21-year-old man who succumbed to injuries several days after he was allegedly assaulted and left unconscious in a maize plantation.
The incident was reported at Moi’s Bridge Police Station on Saturday evening by a local, who informed police that his brother, Kevin Wafula, had died earlier in the day while undergoing treatment at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
According to investigators, the deceased was allegedly attacked on June 6 at around 6 p.m. while in the company of several people at a residence in Jabali area.
Preliminary findings indicate that a disagreement arose over a mobile phone, during which a suspect allegedly struck the victim on the head and neck with a piece of firewood.
Police said the victim fell unconscious and was allegedly dumped in a maize plantation about two kilometres from the homestead where the confrontation occurred.
The following day, a village elder, discovered the injured man and, with the help of other residents, took him to his grandmother’s home before he was rushed to Ziwa Sub-County Hospital.
Due to the severity of his injuries, he was later referred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
He succumbed to his injuries on Saturday at about 11 a.m.
Police officers led by the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) Moisbridge visited the scene and documented the incident.
The body was moved to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination.
No arrests had been made by the time of filing the report, and detectives are pursuing leads to apprehend the suspect as investigations continue.