New details have surfaced about the family troubles that led to the late Mollen Akinyi, wife of a Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers, poisoning her three children before taking her own life.
A police report indicated that the couple was experiencing multiple challenges in their marriage and that Akinyi had attempted to poison the three children in 2021.
The report indicated that neighbours' timely intervention saved the children from the poisoning before they were taken to a safe house.
The KDF soldier, who was on a mission in Somalia at the time, however, stepped in and saw his children returned to their mother.
Akinyi had protested a reduced allowance from her husband that made it difficult for her to take care of the couple's three children.
"He was angered by the move to keep the children in the safe house as he insisted that they stay with their mother before he returned to the mission in Somalia," one of the officers close to the matter told Sunday Nation.
Akinyi had also, at around the same time, been picked up for questioning after she made a call to her husband threatening to kill herself and the couple's children.
The four family members were found dead at their house in Gilgil after the neighbours reported a foul smell from the building.
Akinyi left a suicide note behind which is still under police investigations in which she noted that her husband had reduced her monthly allowance from Ksh18,000 per month to Ksh10,000.
The children were aged 10 years old, 6 years old and one year old.
"She went missing on Wednesday and it was around 7:00 a.m. Her house was attracting flies and her children were not going to school.
"We called an agent who broke in and found her hanging," recounted a neighbour whose account was corroborated by Gilgil OCPD John Onditi.
He observed that Akinyi must have hanged herself using a rope after poisoning the three children.
If you are experiencing any mental health issues, please call Kenya Red Cross toll free hotline, 1199 for support.
