Police in Naivasha have arrested a middle-aged woman who scalded her eight year-old daughter with hot water before locking her for three days in Gilgil.

The girl is nursing serious injuries in the face and other parts of the body at the Gilgil District Hospital after she was attacked in a domestic quarrel.

Neighbours said the girl was unable to report to school, prompting them to find out why. "We started smelling something from the house before we broke in. We heard the girl moaning and when we broke in, we found her on the floor," said a neighbour.

The mother had been known to punish the girl severely on a number of occasions, said Naivasha OCPD Charles Kortok, who confirmed the incident.

"We expect the mother to bring the girl before the Naivasha Law Courts soon," the OCPD said.