House maid alleged to have stabbed two children arrested in Eldoret

The suspect-Gladys Naliaka, onboard Busia-bound bus before she was arrested by DCI detectives in Eldoret. [Photo: Courtesy]

A woman believed to be a house help who allegedly assaulted two children in Nairobi has been arrested.

The suspect was arrested yesterday evening in Eldoret in a Busia-bound bus, just hours after a video clip and photos of the injured children started circulating on social media.

Police believe the maid stabbed the minors aged 11 and five after she disagreed with her employer who eventually fired her on Thursday. She is reported to have sneaked back into her employer’s house in Nairobi’s Greenfield Estate in Donholm where she attacked the children and fled.

The children are fighting for their lives at a city hospital, with one of them reported to be scheduled for surgery.

“Following the overwhelming public outcry over photos and video clips that went viral, depicting a young woman brutalizing minors belonging to her former employer, detectives have this afternoon arrested the perpetrator,” Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss George Kinoti confirmed.

Kinoti said the suspect was found with two identification cards. A video recording of the incident in which a neighbor appealed for police help to arrest the house help has since gone viral.

The video clip shows the minors in blood-stained clothes and one of them with a white bandage wrapped around the head. The neighbor asked for police help in tracing the worker accused of assault.

It appears that the video was shot in a health facility where the children were receiving treatment.

Yesterday, the Sunday Standard visited the family at their house in Nairobi. The family was still in shock and declined to speak to the media about the incident but promised to do so at a later date.

The house help is said to have worked for the family for the last two years.

According to the DCI, the suspect was caught as she tried to escape. “The criminal who has engaged city-based detectives in a cat and mouse game since last night, fell into our dragnet in Eldoret, as she tried to escape,” the DCI said. “She had booked herself into Busia-bound bus in the hope that she would finally sneak out of the country to a neighboring country, where she is believed to have some roots.”

Photos of the minors elicited public outcry after the parents and social media users called on police to act.

“Our attention into the matter was also drawn to a video clip posted by the children’s distraught mother, appealing for information that may lead to the perpetrator’s arrest. We thank the members of the public who provided crucial information. Equally, DCI thanks the Eldoret Express Bus company for cooperating with our agents.”