Gladys Naliaka Nalianya, a househelp who is accused of stabbing her former employer’s children, was arraigned at the Makadara law courts on Monday.
The 22-year-old was charged with attempted murder but she refused to utter a word after the charges were read out to her. This prompted Magistrate Angelo Kithinji to order Naliaka to undergo a mental assessment.
Naliaka appeared in court barefooted with her rubber shoes in hand, a jacket wrapped around her waist, and a sweater covering her head.
Magistrate Angelo Kithinji further directed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to table the suspect’s psychiatrist report before the court on March 29.
Gladys Naliaka Nalianya will remain in custody at the Buruburu police station pending the psychiatric test.
The nanny was first arraigned last week but did not take a plea after detectives sought more days to detain her pending investigations.
The court heard that on March 11 at around 7.20 pm, Naliaka, armed with a machete and a knife, entered the house of Gladys Gacheru in Donholm Greenfields Estate through the backdoor.
The suspect, who had been employed at the home for two years, found the children, aged five and 11, seated in the living room.
When the current househelp went to see who had entered the home, Naliaka threatened to attack her with the machete if she got any closer.
The current househelp then rushed to alert the victims’ elder brother who was in a different room. When they returned to the living room, they found Naliaka had stabbed the two in the head and fled the scene.
The minors suffered deep cut wounds and are still hospitalised in stable condition, Corporal Josephine Nduku told the court last week.
“Upon the suspect’s services being terminated, she left the home swearing that the family would go through untold suffering in the near future,” the detective added.
Naliaka was arrested in Eldoret on March 13 after fleeing from Nairobi.
