Residents of Ng’ope village in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay County are still reeling from shock after a young mother beheaded her son for refusing to suckle.
According to media reports, 23-year-old Night Akoth Otieno killed her one-year-old son, Briton Ochieng’, on Saturday at around 9 pm.
Confirming the incident, Konyago sub–Location assistant chief Gabriel Nyatame said the woman’s husband was away at the time. He noted the woman suffers from a mental disorder.
It is said the toddler was crying incessantly when Ms Akoth deciding to breastfeed him. However, the child declined to feed and continued to cry.
“She was angered when her third born son refused to breastfeed after making several attempts,” the administrator told Radio Ramogi.
The woman left momentarily and returned with a machete(panga). In a fit of fury, the woman first threw the baby on the floor before slitting his throat and severing the head from the rest of the body.
Residents who rushed to the scene tied the woman’s hands and alerted the assistant chief Nyatame who filed a report at Ndhiwa Police Station.
Nyatame said upon interrogation, the woman confessed that she beheaded her son after he refused to breastfeed.
“I rushed to the scene and found the child had been beheaded. Residents had tied her (mother) hands with a sisal rope,” the administrator said.
“We do not know the main reason why the woman killed her son. However, she is saying she killed him because she tried several times to breastfeed the baby, but he declined,” Nyatame added.
Ndhiwa Sub-county Police Commander Robert Aboki said the woman would be arraigned in court Monday, March 1.
The infant’s body was moved to the Manyatta Nursing Home mortuary at Kobodo trading center.
