Kenyan Woman Beheads One-Year-Old Son for Refusing to Breastfeed

A woman in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay County has been arrested after beheading her one-year-old son for allegedly refusing to breastfeed.

Reports indicate the baby named Briton Ochieng was crying uncontrollably, forcing his mother to breastfeed him in an effort to calm him down, but this did not work.

The 23-year-old mother is said to have placed him on the chair, went for a machete, and slit the infant’s throat, killing him on the spot.

Irate neighbors who arrived at the home following the Saturday night incident sought to lynch the suspect, but she was rescued by Area Assistant Chief Gabriel Nyatame.

“I rushed to the scene and found the child had been beheaded. Residents had tied her hands with a sisal rope,” said Nyatame.

“We do not know the main reason why the woman killed her son. However, she is saying she killed him because she tried several times to breastfeed the baby, but he declined.”

Confirming the incident, Ndhiwa Sub-County Police Commander Robert Aboki said the suspect is in police custody pending arraignment on Monday. The body of the minor was moved to a local mortuary.