Ksh.500,000 bond for woman who neglected son, left him to starve to death

The woman, Tolhista Aujet, appeared before Chief Magistrate Peter Ndwiga.

She was charged with manslaughter after her son was found dead in her one-room rental house, suspected to have starved as a result of severe negligence.

Aujet, who was unrepresented, is accused of unlawfully causing the death of her son on September 26, 2026, contrary to Section 202 as read with Section 205 of the Penal Code.

In her response to the charge, she told the court that the allegation was not true.

In his ruling, Magistrate Ndwiga directed her to deposit a bond of Ksh.500,000 with one contact person.

The court further ruled that failure to raise the bond would see her escorted to Eldoret G.K. Women's Remand Prison pending trial. He declined to grant her cash bail owing to the nature of the offence.

The case will come up for mention on November 2, 2026.

Aujet was saved by police from enraged members of the public who were baying for her blood after accusing her of allegedly starving her one-year-old son to death.

The single mother is said to have neglected and locked up her son inside her one-room rental house in Kingongo area, on the outskirts of Eldoret city, while she went out on a two-day chang'aa drinking spree.

Residents who responded to distress cries from the boy were forced to break the door open, only to find that he had passed on.

The enraged residents then mounted a search for her whereabouts before spotting her at one of the drinking joints in Kingongo.

The mob set upon her with kicks and crude weapons before armed officers from Huruma Police Station, who were on normal patrol, intervened and rescued her from being lynched.

The officers arrested her in connection with the alleged act and escorted her to Eldoret Central Police Station, where she was processed before being arraigned in court.

The deceased's body was transported to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) morgue pending postmortem examination.