A family in Chebisian village, Bomet County, has been thrown into mourning after a 35-year-old woman — reportedly suffering from depression — murdered her two children before taking her own life.
Lorna Cherono, 35, reportedly killed her children — 10-year-old Abigael Chepkorir and five-year-old Amos Kipchirchir — using a blunt metallic object before hanging herself on Saturday.
Ms Cherono is survived by a secondary school-aged son who was in Kericho County at the time of the incident.
She and her children were alone at her brother’s house when the tragedy unfolded, as other family members were away.
"I was away in Kericho, and my wife had gone to visit my in-laws, leaving my sister at home. She did not show any signs of depression as I had spoken with her on the phone on Friday, a day prior to the incident," said Ms Cherono’s brother David Bett.
Mr Bett, who works in Kericho, recounted that he had traveled home and went directly to church for Saturday service, while hoping to meet his family there.
"In the course of the mass, I was called outside by my cousin who told me to abandon the service and enter into a vehicle outside the church. We drove home and they broke the news to me before entering the compound," he told the Nation .
On arrival, he found several villagers and passers-by gathered at the homestead.
"I do not know if I would have arrived and saved them had I gone home straight instead of heading to church," Mr Bett said.
Although the police reported that Cherono used a panga to kill her children, family members and residents who first arrived at the scene said a blunt metallic object was used.
"Lorna had on and off bouts of depression that had persisted...but she didn't exhibit any signs of sickness prior to the incident," he said.
"Even during such times, she had not shown any suicidal tendencies. The murder and suicide has come as a shocker to all of us."
When Nation visited the scene on Sunday, the homestead bore stark evidence of the tragedy. Blood-stained bedding, clothes, and shoes had been moved outside but remained untouched. The floor of the grass-thatched, mud-walled house, which served as a kitchen, had been freshly covered with soil to hide the bloodstains.
"Initially we thought the children were alive due to the fresh blood splattered on the clothes and the floor. But we discovered they had died along with their mother. The bodies of the children lay on the floor while Ms Cherono’s body was found hanging from a rope tied to the rafters,” said Paul Mutai, a local villagers who was among the first people at the scene.
Another neighbour, Mr David Rotich, highlighted the family's dire situation while emphasizing the need for community support.
"Both their parents died within a span of three years – their mother, Edna Laboso, in 2015, and their father, William Laboso, in 2018, leaving the six children to fend for themselves at a young age," he said.
"All the family members engage in casual jobs for a living," he added.
He said a fundraiser to cover funeral expenses was scheduled for Thursday with the funeral set for Friday.
On Sunday, villagers continued to offer support with women fetching water and firewood, while elders sat outside the main house discussing how to raise funds for the funeral expenses.
