NAKURU, Kenya, Sep 19-A medical doctor was arrested in Nakuru County on Saturday for allegedly killing his tw0 children by injecting them with an insulin overdose.
Authorities said the doctor identified as Doctor James Gakara then attempted to commit suicide before he was arrested.
Nakuru County Police Commander, Beatrice Kiraguri said the incident was reported by neighbour in Milimani area at about 9:30pm on Saturday.
She said officers went and broke into Gakara’s house where they found the doctor lying unconscious in one bedroom while the children were dead in a separate bedroom.
Kiraguri said assorted drugs and syringes were found in both rooms.
“There was a sharpened knife in the children’s bedroom which means that the father was ready to stub them or slit their throats if the drug failed to kill them,” she added.
Bodies of the two minors aged 3 and 5 were taken to Nakuru Municipal mortuary awaiting a postmortem as part of the investigation.
Kiraguri said the doctor’s wife who is also a medic had traveled to Nairobi when the incident happened.Gakara, an obstetrician
Gynaecologist owns Optimum Current Health Care Clinic in Section 58 estate of Nakuru Town East.
His wife is also a medic and works at the same facility.
She said Gakara was in stable condition at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital Intensive Care Unit.
“He is under arrest and will face charges once he is out of hospital,” she said.
A neighbour’s said the couple disagreed on Saturday afternoon when she insisted on travelling abroad.
“It seems like the man did not like the idea and decided to kill the children and take his own life,” he said.
While such case where a doctor kills his children or people known to him are rare in Kenya, suicides have been on the increase in what experts attribute to stress, including those linked to the COVID-19 pandemic economic effects.