Tragedy of mother who killed her two children

A woman killed her two children by tossing one in a water-filled quarry and then committed suicide by diving in with the other child strapped to her back.

However, a third child outwitted her mother and lived to tell the horrendous tale of how her two young siblings died in a 300-feet abandoned quarry in Kambi Thomas Village, Eldoret.

The woman appeared to have taken the tragic step following a quarrel with her husband three days ago.

The eight-year-old girl said her parents quarrelled and fought on Sunday morning.

The woman’s husband, a distraught and shocked Caleb Masengo, said: “We have been having domestic problems and on Sunday we fought at our home. But I did not think a domestic quarrel would lead to the death of my children and the suicide of my wife.”

The mother of three had lured the children, aged between one and eight years, at dawn on the pretext that they would be visiting their grandparents.

But as soon as they got to the abandoned quarry, she got hold of her three-year-old daughter and tossed her in.

She then threw herself into the quarry with her one-year-old strapped onto her back, according to a witness, Mr Ben Oyole.

However, the eight-year-old escaped after she told her mother that she would jump into the quarry on her own.

“Mum told me that I should be the first one to be thrown into the water but I told her that I will do it on my own. That is how I escaped,” said the little girl.

Mr Oyole added: “As I was coming from work, I heard a child crying and when I moved closer to the disused quarry, I saw the woman toss her child into the quarry and then she threw herself in.”

Mr Oyole said he was drawn to the scene when he spotted the eight-year-old girl running away crying.

“I ran after her and got hold of her and she explained to me what had happened. She took me to her home where I told her family members what had happened,” he said.

Amid sobs, the girl told shocked neighbours what had befallen her mother and siblings.

She said that her parents quarrelled and fought at the weekend.

Residents have asked that the water-logged quarry be filled up.

“We have been retrieving three to four bodies of people who commit suicide in this quarry. We want the government to take action over this,” said Mr George Mugo, a resident.

Mr Masengo said the deceased left their house at Kambi Thomas early in the morning claiming that she was going to her parents in Mois Bridge, only to learn later that she had committed suicide.