Anne Wanja: I left my baby with the house girl, she ended up burnt, and dead

A family in Dandora, Nairobi is crying for justice following the death of their infant, who was allegedly burned by hot tea and later succumbed to her injuries.

Ann Wanja, the mother of 21-month-old Natalia Zoe, said the police were yet to start investigating into the incident though she had reported the matter at the Kariobangi police post under OB57/16/5/2022.

Ms Wanja said she left her daughter under the care of her domestic helper, who has been working for her since February, only to get a call from her saying she should go to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.

“I was on my way home when she called me and informed me that there was an incident and my daughter had been rushed to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital and I should go straight there,” said a tearful Wanja.

At the hospital, doctors said her daughter could be helped there and referred her to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for specialised treatment.

It is the domestic worker’s mother who took the child to Mama Lucy Hospital because the incident happened at her house.

“The house help took my daughter with her when she went to visit her mother, who lives in Korogocho, and that is where the incident happened,” she said.

“When asked what happened, the house help said that after boiling the tea, she went out to get a jug to pour it into and when she came back, she found that her nephew, who is five, had pushed the girl into the sufuria.”

She said that their explanation did not add up as the boy, when asked what had happened, denied that he had anything to do with it. He said he was at a neighbour’s house watching television.

She said doctors at KNH told her on May 12 that the burns were not consistent with what the mother of the domestic helper was saying.

A postmortem report showed that the girl had 46-degree burns when she succumbed to the injuries a week later.

She said officers in Kariobangi had refused to issue them with a letter authorising the hospital to carry out a postmortem exam. It took the intervention of a police officer stationed at KNH for the family to get the letter.

“The police asked us to drop the matter, saying it was a normal incident and that the child had already passed on,” Ms Wanja said.

The Kariobangi police had not visited the scene of the incident or questioned the domestic helper and her mother.

Ms Wanja has accused police of attempting to cover up the incident and now wants the incident investigated.

Little Natalia will be laid to rest on Thursday, May 26 at the Lang’ata cemetery in Nairobi.