Woman in custody for setting daughter on fire

A middle aged step-mother is being held at changamwe police station in Mombasa County for claims of burning her step-child using paraffin.

Police have also launched a manhunt for her husband who fled their Matangini slums home immediately after the incident.

According to area chief Ben Varasa the two burnt their step child and viciously caned their other child before going into hiding but police managed to find the woman.

It is reported that the real mother to children died recently and their father married the woman accused of attacking her.

According to United Nations children’s Fund (UNICEF) reports which indicates that 168 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 are engaged in child labour.

Some 120 million among them are below the age of 14, while 30 million children in this age group mostly girls perform unpaid household chores within their own families.

In addition, millions of children suffer in the other worst forms of child labor, including slavery and slavery-like practices such as forced and bonded labour and child soldiering, sexual exploitation, or are used by adults in illicit activities, including drug trafficking.

The United Nations Children’s Fund works for children’s rights, survival, development and protection.

By Bernice Sila