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Africa News of Saturday, 9 May 2020

Source: bbc.com

Kenyan widow who cooked stones for her children loses baby

Peninah Bahati Kitsao was widowed last year Peninah Bahati Kitsao was widowed last year

Peninah Bahati Kitsao, a Kenyan widow who was filmed cooking stones to make her children believe she was preparing food has lost her last-born child, the Daily Nation newspaper report.

The four-month-old baby died on Thursday, May 8, 2020, after being discharged from hospital where she was treated for a persistent fever, the newspaper reports, quoting Peninah Bahati Kitsao’s 24-year-old son.

Her neighbours in the coastal city of Mombasa brought her plight to public attention last month.

People then sent her money and a local organisation also helped her to open a bank account because she is illiterate.



Ms Kitsao, whose husband was killed by a criminal gang a few months ago, has been struggling to find food for her children since then.

Her situation worsened as the Covid-19 pandemic meant she could no longer find the menial jobs she relied on to fend for her family.