This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
On Sunday evening, a tragic incident shook Luyekhe village, located on the border of Kakamega and Bungoma counties. An expectant mother, Winny Kulangwa, 24, threw her three children into River Nzoia at Mikua area around 9pm.
Fortunately, one of the children, a seven-year-old girl, survived the ordeal. The girl, a pupil at Mbaya Primary in Kakamega, was swept away by the water but managed to cling onto some roots on the edge of the river.
According to the girl, her mother asked them to accompany her to the shop, but when they reached a certain shop, she insisted that they proceed to a different one. It was then that she asked them to close their eyes for a surprise, before throwing the eldest child into the river.
The girl, who described her survival as a miracle, said she struggled and got herself out of the river. She then walked back to the bridge and found no one. Moments later, a man picked her up and took her to his house.
Residents joined divers deployed by Kakamega County to search for the bodies of Ms. Kulangwa and her two children, aged one and four. The woman's relatives said she returned to Luyekhe a week ago from her matrimonial home in Mautuma, Kakamega, and showed no signs that she was disturbed.
