A woman who admitted stabbing her four children with a kitchen knife on January 7 has pleaded for mercy, blaming her action on unresolved family problems.
Mercy Anyango also attempted to slit her throat on the same day at Awasi in Nyando, Kisumu county.
She admitted that she attempted to kill the children – Maxwell Oketch, Emmaculate Oketch, Emily Akinyi and Hezborn Oketch – because husband Maurice Ochieng had refused to provide for the family and that he was violent.
Anyango pleaded for forgiveness before Nyando senior resident magistrate Reuben Sang. She said she had unresolved problems with her husband who had married a second wife.
"I did this due to bitterness. I pray to be forgiven. I love my children and I pray to be given time and opportunity to take care of them,’’ she said in a frail voice.
The particulars of the case are that she stabbed the children who were rescued by neighbours who heard them crying in pain.
The children were taken to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital where they, together with the accused, were treated and discharged.
Principal magistrate Samson Temu ordered that Anyango should undergo a mental assessment before the hearing proceeded.
A January 14 mental health assessment report from JOOTRH indicated that the accused was fit to face trial.
The accused will be sentenced on February 20.
