Residents of Mai Mahiu in Naivasha are grappling with shock following a tragic incident in which a man allegedly poisoned his two children before taking his own life.
The man, believed to be in his late twenties, is suspected of having committed the act following a domestic dispute with his estranged wife, who was not at home during the incident.
According to the children's mother, Mary Karuku, her husband collected the children without her consent and subsequently went missing.
When her attempts to reach him proved unsuccessful, she reported the matter to the Mai Mahiu police station.
The following day, Karuku made the grim discovery of her children's bodies and that of their father at their home.
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Police have transferred the bodies to Naivasha County Hospital mortuary, awaiting postmortem examination.
A distraught Karuku made an emotional appeal for assistance with burial arrangements.
"I would like to ask people to come and help me bury my children. I would like to ask Governor Susan and MP Kihara to come and help me bury my children safely," she said.
A family member echoed the appeal, calling on local leaders to intervene. "I would like to ask the MCAs, the MCAs in our area, to come and help us bury the children and their father," the relative stated.
The family member also urged anyone facing similar difficulties to seek help before taking drastic action.
"If someone has been affected by something like this, please talk to one person or another so that we can get rid of this problem," they said.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths, including the substance used to poison the children.
In April this year, a similar incident was reported in Homa Bay, where a police officer died by suicide after killing his two children and a nephew at his rural home.
The officer, identified as David Okebe Goga, had returned home three weeks earlier from his work station in Marsabit.
Homa Bay County Police Commander Lawrence Koilem said the officer was believed to have poisoned the three children before hanging himself inside his house.
His body was found suspended from the roof of his house.
His brother, Fred Ochieng, told journalists that Goga had been experiencing marital problems and work-related stress, which may have contributed to the incident.
In a suicide note addressed to his father-in-law, the officer accused him of exerting pressure over his wife's education, suggesting she was being pushed to focus on her own family's future rather than their household.
