Isaac Wanyoike and his wife Jacinta Ndunge at the Thika law courts last month. They were charged with torturing their child. [PHOTO/Standard]
The mother of a child found with needles in the body can now be arraigned in court over torture.
A mental assessment report presented in court on Tuesday has shown that Jacinta Ndunge, 31, is mentally fit and can be tried for the offence.
Ms Ndunge and her husband Isaac Gichure were on December 5 charged at a Thika court with torturing their child by inserting 14 needles into her buttocks.
The court then ordered a mental examination following an application by the prosecution counsel Beatrice Kariuki arguing that the two parents were the primary caregivers of the child.
She added that there were other children under the care of accused persons.
But during the assessment the accused denied having any psychiatric or medical problem and said she did not use any psychoactive substance.
In the reports, Constable Elizabeth Mwanzia added that the accused mother did not portray any abnormal behaviour during her time in custody and that she had remained calm.
“During the interview and assessment, Jacinta Ndunge has been calm and able to express herself well. There is no disorder of speech, mood, perception, thought and cognition noted. She is therefore not suffering from mental illness and she is fit to stand trial," read part of the report as quoted by the Standard.