NAIROBI, Kenya — A somber cloud hangs over a Nairobi estate following the tragic death of five-year-old Amanda Mutheu, who allegedly died after being thrown off a balcony by her uncle in a harrowing incident on Thursday night.
Witnesses say the suspect—a close family member—stormed into their home visibly intoxicated and agitated. He found little Mutheu in the care of the house girl and immediately began causing a disturbance.
“He overpowered the nanny and grabbed Amanda from her arms. The house girl screamed and ran out for help,” said one of the neighbors.
Before help could arrive, the man allegedly hurled the child from the balcony.
“The management security and neighbors who heard the screams rushed to the scene and subdued the uncle,” a witness recounted.
Enraged by the incident, residents assaulted the suspect, beating him severely before police from Kahawa West Police Station arrived to intervene. The officers rescued the man from the mob and took him to the Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital (KUTRH), where he is receiving treatment for injuries sustained during the assault.
The suspect, while defending himself, bizarrely claimed that he loved Mutheu and could not have harmed her. He alleged that he threw a doll, not the child.
Meanwhile, Amanda Mutheu was rushed to KUTRH’s emergency unit and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Despite efforts by medics to save her life, she was pronounced dead shortly after admission.
Police have booked the suspect and launched investigations into the incident..
