Police have arrested a woman who beat up and hanged her four-year-old daughter in Gikingi location, Nyandarua county.
Cecilia Wangeci, who is at Oljoro Orok police station, killed her daughter on Saturday morning.
Wangeci is said to have woken a neighbour called Damba, telling her she was going to the chief's office to report the incident.
Damba inquired about the child and Wangeci told her to go and look in the house.
Concerned, Damba rushed to Wangeci's house calling the girl's name but received no response.
She found the girl had been hanged from the roof and alerted neighbours who called the police.
Swift action by police and the area chief Mary Njoroge prevented residents from lynching Wangeci.
Njoroge said the child appeared to have been badly beaten before being hanged from the roof of their bedroom.
"What pains us so much is how she got courage to put a rope around her child's neck even after beating her," she said.
The girl's body was moved to the mortuary, while Wangeci is expected in court on Monday.
Neighbours said Wangeci had beaten the child on Friday evening and also woke up to beat her on Saturday.
While no reason was established for the incident, neighbours said Wangeci often beat the girl.
Wangeci lived with her sister and her three children, but they were away during the incident.
They also have a brother who appeared to be unconcerned by the incident. Neighbours said the brother is a drug addict.