TURKANA, Kanya – Police in Turkana County are investigating a disturbing incident in which a 35-year-old woman allegedly killed her two young children before taking her own life in Todonyang, near the Kenya–Ethiopia border.
The woman, identified as Hellen Akai, is believed to have strangled her two sons, aged four and two, on Sunday, October 26, in Nachukui village. Police said she was alone with the children when the incident occurred.
She reportedly dug a shallow grave near her home late at night and buried the children before returning to the house, where she took her own life by hanging.
Her body was found the following morning with a rope around her neck, suspended from the roof truss of her home.
Neighbours told police they became concerned after noticing unusual silence at the homestead and the absence of the children, who were often seen playing outside.
They also noted that Akai had not shown any visible signs of distress in recent days.
Officers who responded to the scene exhumed the children’s bodies and moved them, together with their mother’s remains, to a mortuary for autopsies.
“The motive is not yet known. Investigations are ongoing to establish the circumstances that led to the incident,” police said.
The incident adds to a rising number of family-related murder-suicides reported across the country, which have sparked concern among mental health experts and authorities.
Just last week, a man in Suswa, Narok County, poisoned his two daughters before dying by suicide in a similar case whose motive also remains unclear.
According to police figures, up to five such cases are reported in Kenya daily, most involving close family members.
Mental health specialists link the trend to factors such as depression, substance abuse, domestic conflict, financial strain and untreated trauma.
The government says it is working with health agencies to expand access to counselling and community mental health support.
