“I killed my child and cremated the body”, Kenyan street mother’s confession.

By Muchemi Wachira

NAIROBI, Kenya –A street mother killed her nine-month-old child before she cremated the body at Uhuru Park in Nairobi, which is a public recreation facility.

Margaret Nduta confessed before a Nairobi court that she used old clothes to burn the body of her kid Hassan Juma Karanja, after he died after falling ill.

The child according to the mother had been sick for a long time. She did not have money to seek medical attention for him and she could also not afford to inter his remains.

Nduta spoke uncontrollably when she appeared before the court to answer charges of manslaughter.

“Police found Nduta sitting next to the burning body of the boy at Uhuru Park in Nairobi on June 27, 2016,” a prosecutor told the court.

Police records further state that Nduta allegedly took the life of her son because he had been sick for a long time.

The court heard that Nduta, who alleged in court that she is a mother of five, did not flee even when police approached her.

“She sat watching the body of her son burn,” the investigating officer states in a statement to court.

EIGHT SIBLINGS

Nduta also told the court that she has eight siblings but does not know where they are. Most street mothers in Kenya usually abandon their children once they attain the age of two to three years.

Magistrate Francis Andayi directed that the accused be taken for a mental examination.
The magistrate, however, said he will set a trial date should “the medical report indicate that the accused is fit to stand trial.”

“Besides the medical report, also a probation officer’s report is necessary in respect of the accused,” Mr Andayi ruled.