A single room in Mlolongo Phase 3 has become the grim scene of an unimaginable tragedy, where a mother’s despair turned deadly, claiming the lives of her three young children and leaving a community paralyzed by grief.

Police have arrested Linet Murila, a 23-year-old mother suspected of poisoning her children—one-year-old twin girls and their four-year-old brother—following a violent domestic dispute. The discovery was made after Murila allegedly sent a chilling text message to her caretaker, instructing her to go to the house and witness a "wonder." That "wonder" was the lifeless bodies of three innocents, foam frothing from their mouths, victims of a toxic mixture suspected to be Vim detergent and pesticide.

The Anatomy of Despair

Neighbors describe a weekend of chaos leading up to the murders. A heated altercation with her husband seems to have been the trigger, pushing Murila over a psychological precipice. This tragedy shines a harsh light on the silent mental health crisis festering in Kenya’s informal settlements, where economic hardship and domestic instability often create a pressure cooker with no escape valve.

“She was traced and arrested while trying to escape,” confirmed Athi River East Police Commander Anderson Mbae. Murila is currently being held at Mlolongo Police Station as DCI detectives piece together the timeline of the night the lights went out for three Kenyan children.

• The Victims: Twin girls (1 year old) and a boy (4 years old).
• The Weapon: A suspected cocktail of household chemicals and poison.
• The motive: Alleged retaliation following a domestic brawl.

A Community in Shock

The neigbours of Neema Plaza are haunted. The caretaker who opened that door will never unsee the horror within. As the bodies lie in the City Mortuary awaiting autopsy, the conversation must shift from condemnation to prevention. How many other mothers are one fight away from snapping? And where are the social safety nets to catch the children before they fall?