Nairobi Woman Charged With Stealing Four-Month-Old Baby

A Nairobi woman and her daughter have been charged in a Nairobi court for stealing a four-month-old baby at Uhuru Park.

Grace Akinyi Misilia and Nelly Achieng Misiani were accused of stealing the baby on Monday, March 1, from a house help living in Majengo in Gikomba Estate.

While appearing before Nairobi Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku on Wednesday, March 10, the suspects denied two charges leveled against them that include conspiracy to commit a felony and human trafficking.

According to the charge sheet, the prosecution claimed that on March 1, while at Uhuru Park, Akinyi and her daughter Achieng jointly with others, conspired to commit a felony, namely trafficking in persons, a baby known as E.T aged four months, for the purpose of exploitation.

The two-faced another charge, that on the same date and in the company of others, not before the court, they transported E.T from Nairobi to Bungoma.

After denying the charges, Akinyi who is the main suspect in the case told the court that they met the mother of the baby when she was looking for a job as a house help.

The prosecution, through Anderson Gikunda, told the court that Akinyi’s husband has since been charged with the same offense and remanded in custody. 

The government, in November 2020, ordered investigations into the theft and sale of babies following a BBC Africa expose into the black market trade in the city’s public hospitals.

BBC Africa Eye documentary titled The Baby Stealers exposed an underground child trafficking ring with deep roots in Kenya.

A series of suspects were arrested in connection to the expose and arraigned in court. They included chief executive officer (CEO) of Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital Emma Mutio, administrative officer Regina Musembi, and clinical social worker Makallah Fred Leparan.