A detailed letter by a woman accused of killing her four children exposes the frustrations she endured prior to the incident that has left Naivasha residents in shock.
The letter addressed to her eldest son lays bare her torment and anguish including failure to pay house rent since April.
She was unable to settle a Sh1,400 electricity bill, further pushing the mother of six to the abyss.
“I know I belong to jail… in fact I know I will spend the rest of my life behind bars but I am prepared for it,” the hand written letter reads.
In the letter, she accuses her boyfriend of having betrayed her love. “I loved him dearly,” she stated, adding “Have nothing to do with him,” she warned her son.
She encourages her son, who is at the university, not to be discouraged, and to continue with his studies, calling upon him to take care of his younger brother.
She revealed where she wanted her children to be buried, saying she had bought new outfits for them to be fitted in during the burial.
“I have already purchased the dresses…” She quoted the Bible — John 14:1 (Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me), calling her son to find strength by reading the verse.
Narrating the sequence of events, the suspect’s brother Jackson Kimotho talked of how his elder sister posted a photo of the slain children on the family’s WhatsApp group on Saturday at around 2:28pm.
“She was seeking comments about children, with one of the group users saying they were adorable,” said the brother.
In quick successions, she again posted a comment: “Take a moment of silence and give final respect to my kids.”
She again wrote: “I don’t understand, they are dead — I have killed them.”
Moments later, she posted her old photo, captioned: Betty the murderer — Pray for the soul to have peace here on earth.”
The group’s administrator quickly removed the suspect before things started unfolding, throwing the family into a spin.
After noticing she had been blocked, she called Mr Kimotho, directing him to go her house accompanied by police.
“She directed me where to get the key and when we got into the house, what we saw was really disturbing,” he told the Nation outside the Naivasha Police Station, on Sunday.
All the four children lay dead in the bedroom. “It was a heart wrenching moment. I was in disbelief. My sister was a jovial person and never showed any signs of stress,” he added.
Mr Kimotho said he and his sister had secured part time teaching jobs but their services were stopped due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Her sister dropped out of campus in fourth year, where she was pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce Degree. She engaged in part time jobs prior to the incident that has left the family lost for words.
“She never shared with anyone what she was going through, including financial challenges. We were not aware she was battling stressful moments,” added the brother.
Mr Kimotho said the family was yet to come into terms with the macabre killings that have left them in a dilemma.
“It is a very painful moment for all of us. It was so sudden we are yet to comprehend the turn of events,” said Mr Kimotho.
Investigators said a relative visited the accused on Friday and pleaded to leave with the children, but she flatly refused.
It was on the same night that the woman is suspected to have poisoned the four children aged between seven and two years before smothering them.
At the time of the incident, she was holed up in the house together with the four children, with her two elder sons having been away. A sample of the poison collected in the house was taken to the government chemist for analysis.
