On April 28, Sharon Kalalwa, a Grade Two pupil at Cheseret Primary School in Chemolingot, Baringo County, left home excited for school.
A few kilometres from her home, the 10-year-old heard a distress call from a tied-up goat. And in a show of compassion, she rushed to help, unaware of the lurking danger.
Kalalwa was electrocuted after stepping on wet ground that carried an electric current leaving her with severe burns. Her mother, Irine Anamile, recalls that a neighbour heard Sharon’s screams and rushed to the scene and found the girl unconscious.
He quickly called Kenya Power (KPLC) for help as everyone else feared being electrocuted. But the firm’s staff arrived three hours later around noon, even though the incident occurred at 9am.
The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital in Chemolingot for first aid before being referred to Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital for treatment.
Ms Anamile recalls that she wasn’t immediately informed about the incident and began searching for her daughter when she didn’t return home in the evening. To her horror, she learned Sharon had been electrocuted and was already in Nakuru receiving treatment.
The following day, while accompanied by Sharon’s aunt and a neighbour, she made the journey to Nakuru to see her daughter.
What they found devastated her. Sharon had suffered severe burns to her head, legs, and hands and her scalp was badly damaged, with doctors working frantically to save her life.
“My daughter was lying in the hospital bed writhing in pain. Her face was swollen; she could not see properly. She was in a bad state. She was not even able to walk to go to the washrooms. She could not even recognise me and it took three days for her to come back to her senses,” said Ms Anamile, a food vendor.
For the past five months, Sharon has remained hospitalised receiving treatment under her mother’s watchful eye.
"The first few months were incredibly hard as she was in so much pain. Seeing her now gives me hope even though she hasn’t fully recovered. I never thought she’d survive. I’m just happy she’s responding well to treatment," said Ms Anamile, a single mother of four.
Despite the severity of the incident, Kenya Power has remained largely silent, according to Ms Anamile.
She claims the company has not visited Sharon in the hospital and has been unresponsive to her attempts to reach out.
“Anytime I call them to ask for help I’m met with disrespect. They’ve completely neglected my daughter. My child was electrocuted because an electric pole fell and they’ve done nothing to assist us. I just want justice for my daughter. She’s missed school for months and I don’t even know where to begin once she’s discharged," Ms Anamile said tearfully.
The woman said the burden of caring for her injured daughter has been overwhelming as she struggles to make ends meet.
She is now pleading with Kenya Power to take responsibility for the incident. She claims the company took far too long to remove the fallen pole and their delayed response endangered her daughter’s life.
Ms Tabitha Akuka, who is the deputy in charge of the burn unit at Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital, said Sharon was admitted with severe electric burns, described as charred wounds.
The medical team immediately began cleaning and dressing the head wound to prepare it for debridement, the process of removing dead tissue to allow for skin grafting.
"We used to clean her head wound every four days until it was ready for grafting. Sharon has already undergone two surgeries and is scheduled for another one in the coming days, either Monday or Sunday," explained Ms Akuka.
The next surgery will involve a procedure called Titum mesh to seal Sharon’s scalp. The official said that Sharon will not be discharged until she fully recovers.
"We are also conducting physiotherapy to prevent her legs from contracting. At the moment, she has back slaps on her legs to ensure they remain straight. The hospital has done everything we can to help her," she said.
When contacted, Baringo Kenya Power County Business Manager, Samuel Boigor, confirmed that the incident had been investigated and a report was forwarded to the safety, security, and insurance departments.
However, he noted that Kenya Power received information about Sharon’s injuries late contributing to the delayed response.
"Typically we visit the scene, create an incident report, and then forward it to the relevant department. Once the child is discharged, the family will need to engage with our insurance team regarding medical expenses. We don’t always advise families to follow up immediately as some cases may worsen from injuries to fatalities," said Mr Boigor in a phone interview.
