Police in Baringo North have arrested a school headteacher accused of throwing his five-month-old infant into a fire in Ng’aratuko area.
47-year-old Paul Kipsang, who is the Principal at Katokon Secondary School in the neighbouring Tiaty Sub-County had been on the run after he attempted to kill the baby over a week ago.
According to the baby’s mother, the accused arrived home intoxicated and threatened to kill the baby saying he did not father him.
“I normally sleep in the kitchen with other young children, including the infant. He arrived home at around 9 pm drunk, claiming that the baby’s ears didn’t look like his or his kin’s, and accused me of infidelity.
“I thought it was his usual talk as a result of his habitual drunkenness and I rushed to the sitting room to get a plate to feed him thinking it would quell his ranting,” said the mother of eight.
It was then that she heard her baby crying and ran back to the kitchen only to find the door closed from inside.
“Sensing danger, I screamed to alert the neighbours as I pushed the door. When it finally opened, he was holding a machete while the baby was already in the fire crying. I gathered courage and pushed him to the wall as I struggled to pull the child from the fire,” she narrated.
The baby was rushed to Marigat Sub-County Hospital and referred to Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet where an officer from the children’s department, Irene Chepkwony, reported the incident to the police.
“I have sleepless nights because the baby is crying owing to the injuries. I don’t even know if he will ever see because the eyes were also burnt and part of the nose was also affected. I am appealing the concerned authorities to arrest the culprit for the heinous act inflicted on an innocent child,” said the baby’s mother.
A doctor at the hospital where the infant is recuperating said the baby sustained 10 degree burns on the face and the knees.
“The infant is currently stable but we are still assessing to see if he will require skin grafting or if it resulted in any complications because the burns extended to the eyes. There is also a history of the child being hit on the thigh by the same person where he sustained a femur fracture,” said Dr Aloe Papa.
