Nakuru, Busia couples in baby theft case set for DNA test

Nakuru Principal Magistrate Bernard Mararo on Tuesday allowed police to collect samples from the couples from Nakuru and Busia counties. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • Nakuru Principal Magistrate Bernard Mararo on Tuesday allowed police to collect samples from the couples from Nakuru and Busia counties.
  • Police believe the baby was stolen from Nakuru County by a woman who transported it all the way to Busia.
  • Police arraigned one of the women on suspicion that she committed the offence.
  • Constable Eric Kipngeno Chirchir, a detective based in Nakuru West, told the court that he was investigating the woman for child trafficking.

Two couples embroiled in a fight over a two-month old baby will undergo a DNA test that will establish who the real parents are.

Nakuru Principal Magistrate Bernard Mararo on Tuesday allowed police to collect samples from the couples from Nakuru and Busia counties.

Police arraigned one of the women on suspicion that she stole the child.

Constable Eric Kipngeno Chirchir, a detective based in Nakuru West, told the court that he was investigating the woman for child trafficking.

BOND

In his miscellaneous application, he sought more time to detain the suspect in order to conclude the probe.

“I request the court to grant us 14 days to hold the suspect at Kaptembwa Police Station so we can conduct the DNA test before preferring charges,” said Mr Kipngeno.

However, the court directed that the woman be released on a personal bond of Sh 400,000 with a surety of the same amount.

The judge further directed that the two women have supervised access to the child who is at a Nakuru children’s home.

THEFT CLAIM

Police believe the baby was stolen from Nakuru County by a woman who transported it all the way to Busia.

The man from Nakuru told officers from Lukolis Police Station in Teso South, Busia County, that his daughter disappeared on July 1 at about noon from their home in Nakuru.

He said he alerted police after seeing the baby in Busia.

“We are sure this is our baby. We just had to look at it once. I don’t know why she would claim it’s her child," he said.

His 25-year-old wife said the child went missing after she left it in the care of a neighbour. She left the baby sleeping on the couch and went to buy lunch.

“When I came back, I found the father lying on the couch and asked him where the baby was. He said he had not seen the baby and informed me of a strange woman who had been seen walking out of the compound,” she said.

BIRTH DATES

The Nakuru woman said she gave birth on May 2 at Nakuru Level Five hospital while the Busia woman claimed she delivered on July 13.

She said she had visited a friend when she gave birth and that she was assisted by a midwife.

“The child is mine,” she said but agreed to the DNA test and promised to give up the child should it turn out that it belongs to the other couple.

“I cannot claim custody of a child that is not mine,” she said.

The case will be mentioned on August 27.