Couple admits killing and burying disabled daughter
Police offiers escort Timothy Lihanya ( second right) and his lover Charity Cheruto from Olainguse Forest on September 22, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Charity Cheruto, 21, and Timoth Lihanya, 28, said they killed the child to save their love.
- Olunguse Chief Samuel Bitok said he became suspicious on getting reports of the missing girl.
- The administrator said the two began behaving strangely when asked about the girl.
Two lovers in Cherus Village, Uasin Gishu County have been charged with killing their three-year-old disabled child and secretly burying the body in Singalo forest.
Charity Cheruto, 21, and Timoth Lihanya, 28, said they killed the child to save their love.
Olunguse Chief Samuel Bitok said he became suspicious on getting reports of the missing girl.
The administrator said the two began behaving strangely when asked about the girl.
"They said the child had been taken to a relative but the story did not sound believable so I insisted on being told the truth," Mr Bitok said.
"I became adamant and demanded to be told the whereabouts of the child. That is when the woman admitted that they killed her and buried the body in the forest."
The chief then ordered the pair to show him the grave. Later, Ms Cheruto and Mr Lihanya were taken to Kondoo police station.
Police said the couple killed the child on the evening of September 20 and took the body to the forest for burial at 8pm.
The couple was charged with murder in Eldoret on Monday.
Locals said Ms Cheruto and Mr Lihanya are casual labourers at a local market.
A neighbour who spoke to journalists said the lovers usually locked the girl in the house when they went to work.
Mr Bitok said the woman claimed Mr Lihanya made her commit the crime "since the child was a nuisance".
Kapseret police chief Francis Warui condemned the incident.
"This is inhuman. The two will face the full force of the law," Mr Warui said.
