This archive report was first published on 28 December 2019.
On December 25, 2019, a six-month-old infant named Haggai Bushuru lost his life in a tragic incident at Shikokho village in Malava, Kakamega County. The cause of death was a mother hen that had been guarding its one-week-old chicks.
According to Robai Toboko, Haggai's mother, the hen jumped at her provocation, causing the baby to fall unconscious. 'The hen jumped nosily with one of its wings brushing my baby on the face. He was traumatised and started crying until he fell unconscious,' she said.
Robai explained that her baby was never receptive to attempts to scare him, and she was not surprised when he reacted in a similar way to the hen's fury. However, she never imagined that the incident would end in tragedy.
At the burial, many curious mourners wanted to catch a glimpse of the killer hen. The community's reaction was to decapitate the hen and roast it for the elders to eat, a tradition aimed at banishing evil spirits that may come back to haunt the family.
As reported by The Standard on December 28, 2019, the incident has left the community in shock, with many questioning the circumstances surrounding the baby's death.
