Residents in Tumoek village in Kipkelion West, Kericho County, are reeling in shock after a 17-year-old girl poisoned her 4-month-old baby to death.

According to reports, the mother of the deceased is a student at a local day school.

She is alleged to have added a poisonous substance to the baby’s milk bottle and then fed the child.

“She mixed the concoction and gave it to the little one. We suspect it was a pesticide,” an official said.

Locals say the girl dropped out of school and has not been in class for four months.

“It was just a normal and we were going about our duties. The baby’s grandparents however noticed something unusual,” a resident said.

The girl's parents noticed that the child had become weak and rushed her to hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.

Officers from Fort Ternan arrived at the scene and took the body of the infant to St Vincent Hospital mortuary.