A woman was arrested on Friday in Thuita, Tharaka-Nithi County, after drowning her 18-month-old baby in River Ruguti.
A report by Nation indicated that Jenifer Mumbi threw her son into the river at around 5pm.
Area Assistant Chief Charles Mugendi told journalists that the woman killed the baby due to a marital dispute with her husband.
Mugendi explained that the woman's husband, John Ndwiga, had been beating and threatening to kill her if she remained with the child.
Her husband suspected that she conceived the child with another man.
He also disclosed that police searched for the baby in the river on Friday but their efforts bore no fruits.
The exercise resumed on Saturday and it was not immediately clear whether the body was found.
Mary Kanini, an eyewitness, revealed that Mumbi had told them she had a plan of drowning her son and later committing suicide because life had become meaningless.
“Mumbi told us that since she was brought up in a children’s home and she never knew her parents or relatives, she had nowhere else to go even if she divorced her husband,” she stated.
Mumbi was taken to Chuka Police Station for questioning and possible prosecution.