A 23-year-old woman charged with alleged child neglect was on Tuesday released by a court in Nakuru after pleading guilty.
The prosecution told the court that the accused, Mercy Wangeci, had on many occasions abandoned her two children aged two and four without food, shelter and attendance for long hours and even days while she allegedly indulged in drinking and other immoralities.
In addition, Chief Resident Magistrate Felix Kombo heard that the accused’s neighbours, who had reported the matter to Teachers Police Post, had on many occasions provided food, shelter and care to the innocent children.
The prosecution had added that upon her arrest, the accused had been locked up at the police post awaiting investigations and transfer to the Nakuru Central Police Station while the children were taken by police to Nakuru Children’s home.
However in her mitigation, the accused told Justice Kombo that she was an orphan and a single mother without a steady income to enable her take care of her children.
She averred that she was always up and down looking for a part time job and that was why in some instances she failed to be available to take care of her children.
Wangeci asked the court not to send her to jail since she was the sole breadwinner and she was working hard to secure a good job for the sake of her children.