A mundane domestic chore has ended in unimaginable tragedy in Kisii County. Gladys Nyanchama Motari, a 40-year-old mother, has been electrocuted to death outside her own home in Otamba village, a victim of lethal negligence and the treacherous state of rural power infrastructure.

The incident occurred as Nyanchama was hanging wet clothes on a line, a routine she had likely performed a thousand times. Preliminary police investigations reveal a horrifying sequence of events: a low-lying main electric cable, swung by strong winds, made contact with the clothesline. The surge of voltage was instantaneous and fatal. Despite being rushed to Christamarianne Mission Hospital, she succumbed to her injuries, leaving a family shattered and a community in shock.

The Silent Killer

This tragedy is not an isolated misfortune; it is an indictment of the safety standards governing power distribution in rural Kenya. Local officials have pointed fingers at illegal power connections and the use of unqualified "quacks" for wiring, which leave live cables dangling perilously close to living spaces. The wind was the trigger, but the gun was loaded by systemic failure.

The death of Gladys Nyanchama adds to a grim toll. In the same week, a 12-year-old child in Baringo was burned by a fallen cable, and another woman in Vihiga died under similar circumstances. These incidents paint a picture of a power grid that is becoming a death trap for the very citizens it is meant to serve.

• The Victim: Gladys Nyanchama Motari, 40, of Otamba Village, Kisii.
• The Cause: A wind-blown live power cable touched a clothesline while she was hanging wet laundry.
• The Context: Part of a rising wave of electrocution incidents linked to illegal connections and poor infrastructure maintenance.

A Call for Accountability

As the body awaits postmortem, the police have opened an investigation, but for the residents of Otamba, the verdict is already in. They are demanding an overhaul of the wiring in the area and a crackdown on the illegal connections that turn innocent homes into hazards.

Gladys Nyanchama went out to hang clothes and never came back. Her death must serve as a wake-up call to Kenya Power and local authorities. No citizen should have to gamble with their life simply to keep their household running.