Family appeals for help to trace child stolen from Kisii hospital

A couple in Kisii County is in agony after their three-month-old daughter was Tuesday stolen by a stranger from the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Ms Calister Kwamboka, 31, told Nation.co.ke that she had taken her daughter - Fenesencia Kemunto - for treatment at the hospital when she met the stranger, a woman who only introduced herself as Rose.

“We struck up a conversation as I waited at the outpatient department for doctors to attend to my sick baby,” she says.

According to the mother of three, the woman seemed friendly.

“She seemed to know a number of people from Nyakoe, Kisii County, where my marital home is located. I felt that I could trust her since she claimed to be related to my husband’s family,” said Ms Kwamboka.

STRANGER DISAPPEARS

Matters took a turn for the worse when at one point, Ms Kwamboka went to use the restroom and left her child with the stranger.

“I saw no harm in leaving my baby in the care of the woman since she had already identified herself as a relative,” said Ms Kwamboka.

When she returned from the toilet to the outpatient department, the purported relative was nowhere to be seen.

“I looked for her everywhere but she was nowhere to be seen. My baby was also missing. I was left in a state of shock,” she said.

Ms Kwamboka then notified the hospital authorities about the disappearance.

She claimed that the hospital’s closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras had recorded the woman leaving with her child.

The hospital’s staff, however, refused to release the footage to journalists.

They instead referred the Nation.co.ke to the police, saying it was a criminal matter.

REMAINS HOPEFUL

Ms Kwamboka remains hopeful that her lastborn child will be found.

“That woman went with my daughter Fenecensia, her treatment card and the medicine I had purchased for her. She even took my phone which was in my bag. I am a confused and distressed person at the moment,” she said.

The distraught mother broke down and cried as she narrated her story.

“I miss my daughter so much. The thought that someone could steal my sick child away from me is too much to bear,” she says, amid tears.

Her husband, Mr Evans Ratemo, said he had spent sleepless nights worried for the safety of his daughter.

“I have lost appetite since my daughter’s disappearance. The whole situation has left me a very worried man,” he says.

The worried parents appealed to anyone with information on their daughter’s whereabouts to contact the police.

Divisional Criminal Investigation Officer Mr Charles Mwangi said investigations into the case are underway.

“We have received a number of leads on the suspect and are pursuing her. My officers hope to make an arrest soon,” he said.