A 17-year-old housekeeper is being held at Kabarnet police station for child abduction.
Caroline Kipnaigei stated that on March 20, at 9 a.m., she dropped off her 20-month-old child at her sister’s house in Whitehouse Vineyard Estate in Nakuru town before leaving for work.
Ms Kipnaigei used to leave the toddler in the care of her sister’s househelp, Marion Cherogony.
“As usual, on Wednesday morning, I dropped off my son at my sister’s house before leaving for work. My sister’s househelp usually takes care of him.
She arrived home to discover that the housekeeper and the child were missing, and when she inquired with neighbours, she was told that the two had left the house in the morning.
At 10 p.m., she reported the incident to the Workers Police Patrol Base in Nakuru town, using the occurrence book number (OB) 12/20/03/2024.
On Thursday, officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) tracked her phone number and located her in Biretwo, Elgeyo Marakwet.
The missing child’s details, as well as the housekeeper’s and parent’s contact information, were also shared on social media.
On Thursday afternoon, a boda boda rider in Kaptimbor, on the outskirts of Kabarnet town in Baringo Central, saw the missing household and child and recognized the pictures as those being circulated on social media, so he called the number provided before alerting the police.
Patrick Tuitoek, a boda boda rider from Kaptimbor, said he saw the housekeeper and the toddler drinking at one of the shops.
“When we interrogated her, she insisted the child was hers, but she appeared suspicious. During further interrogation, she attempted to board a motorcycle, which prompted us to call the police, and she was taken to Kabarnet police station,” said Mr Tuitoek.
Baringo County Police Commander Julius Kiragu confirmed the incident, saying they received information from members of the public who had seen a girl with a toddler who appeared to have been reported missing.
According to the police, the housekeeper traveled to Eldoret and then to Kabarnet town, where she was arrested.