Kirinyaga: Shock as woman jumps into river with baby strapped to her back

A shocking incident was on Saturday witnessed at Kabiro-ini  village in Gichugu, Kirinyaga County, after a 29-year-old woman threw herself into River Nyamindi with her 5-year-old child strapped to her back.

Area residents led by the woman’s uncle Stephen Maembe said the motives for her actions remain unknown.

“She was seen by a Kainamoi coffee factory watchman who raised alarm before we arrived here and informed the authorities,” Mr Maembe said, identifying the deceased woman as Moreen Wangui Munene.

The woman’s grandfather Ngombo Kuruma said she was washing clothes before later disappearing with the girl child after realising that everybody had gone inside the house.

Her shocked grandmother Fridah Njoki, on her part, noted that Wangui had come to visit them before committing the act.

“She stays with her parents in Embu since her mother is a civil servant and her father is a contractor. I do not know why she decided to throw herself in the river,” an emotional Njoki said.

Gichugu sub-county Police Commander Johnson Wachira said police officers are presently working together with the residents in a bid to retrieve the bodies from the river.

He noted that the family has since reported the matter to the Kiamutugu Police Station.

“We are having a very hard time because we are cautious about this river, it is tough searching  for the two bodies.” Said area resident Simon Muchira.