• The body of Moleen Akinyi Pande was Saturday, February 5 found dangling in her house in Gilgil town.
• The bodies were discovered by neighbours who called the police.
Image: THE STAR
Police are investigating an incident in which a 32-year-old woman is believed to have killed her three children before she took her own life in Gilgil, Nakuru County.
The body of Moleen Akinyi Pande was Saturday, February 5, found dangling in her house in Gilgil town.
Police said they checked in the same house and found her three children, identified as Brandon Pande, 10, Trevor Pande aged six and Raddy Pande aged one year, dead.
The bodies were discovered by neighbours who called the police.
Police say they also recovered a suicide note at the scene which is being analysed to establish if it’s genuine.
The note was reportedly addressed to her husband.
Rift Valley police boss Fred Ochieng said they are also investigating to establish if it was a murder-suicide incident.
“We will know if it was a murder-suicide. It is possible for one to kill them and stage all that. We are investigating,” he said.
The bodies were moved to the mortuary.
The incident adds to such increasing ones where people are killing or dying by suicide.
The trend has been linked to mental illness.
A task force on mental health established in 2020 Kenya has a high burden of mental illness due to ill health, psychosocial disability and premature mortality with huge gaps in access to care.
The team found out that the majority of populations in Kenya associate mental health and mental illness with negative narratives leading to a low focus on the importance and benefits of mental health and well being.
The team also recommended that mental illness be declared a national emergency of epidemic proportions, to prioritize mental health as a priority public health and socioeconomic agenda.
It recommended that mental health be provided with adequate financing in line with international best practices in Kenya, it is estimated that one in every 10 people suffer from a common mental disorder.
The number increases to one in every four people among patients attending routine outpatient services.