Parents in fear after string of child abductions in Nairobi

Mother escorted son to board a matatu and go to his uncle’s house, just 300 meters away for tuition. That was the last time she saw her son.

Brian Kinyua Munene, 12, was kidnapped by unknown people within Kahawa West on Sunday.

His was among the latest in a string of child kidnapping within Nairobi that has sent shock-waves through parents and forced police to issue an alert for parents to be careful. The latest kidnapping was reported on Monday evening.

Brian left their house in Congo area of Kahawa West near Farmers Choice to go to his uncle, Mr Samwel Mwaniki, who lives within Kahawa West, just 300 metres away.

Brian’s mother, Ms Lydiah Njeri Mwaniki, said she escorted him to the stage where he boarded a matatu. “I normally insist that he takes a matatu because of the risk in crossing the road,” she told the Nation on Tuesday.

Brian was a Standard Six pupil at the Marion Preparatory School in Kahawa West. After about 25 minutes, Mr Mwaniki called and informed Brian’s mother that the boy had not arrived.

“I got concerned because that was not the first time he was going to see his uncle, and it usually took him about five minutes to reach the place,” said Brian’s mother.

The mother went to his friends’ houses but none of them had seen him. She later called the class teacher who in turn called other parents but, again, no one had seen the boy.

They then went to Kiamumbi police station where they were advised to check with Kasarani police and Kiambu district hospital. He could not be traced.

On Tuesday, she received a call from a private number. The caller did not talk after he picked up the call.

And on Monday, Ms Zainab Mohammed sent her employee to buy rice on Jogoo Road. He went along with her son Aaron Hassan without her permission. Little did she know that this was the last time she would be seeing her two and half-year-old son.

Later, her employee called to say he needed Sh100,000 before releasing the boy. That prompted Ms Mohammed to report the matter to the police, who traced his phone signals.

The signals indicated that he was somewhere around Roysambu roundabout in Nairobi’s Kasarani area.

Since then, detectives say the man’s mobile phone signals indicate he is in Webuye, though he called the boy’s mother insisting he was still in Nairobi.

The case is the latest to happen in Nairobi where police have sent out an alarm over a child kidnapping ring after the two boys disappeared over the last two days.

The cases have brought to five the number of toddlers who have been forcibly been taken away over the last couple of weeks. Fear has gripped many parents in Nairobi following the surge in child kidnapping.

Nairobi police boss Moses Ombati said the latest suspect was known and that they would arrest him soon and rescue the child.

Detectives tracking the suspect said that on Tuesday at around 1am, he was within Eldoret town before he later switched off his phone.

Last Monday, a girl, Kelly Muthoni who had been kidnapped a fortnight earlier at a Nairobi church was rescued by police and the six suspects charged in court. (READ: Six in court over girl’s kidnap)