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Joyful end to agonizing search for stolen children
- Details
- Published on Thursday, 18 June 2009 06:05
But she arrived safely at Nyacheki Sub-District Hospital in Gucha District, accompanied by her mother-in-law, Mrs Mary Moraa. The latter went to buy food when Machuki went into labour. In the grip of the birth pains, a nurse told Machuki, 20, that her baby had developed breathing problems soon after birth and had been placed in a separate room.
The story changed soon after; the baby had died, she was told. "It was my first delivery and I was shocked to learn my baby had died after difficulties in breathing. When I asked to see the body, I was told that I needed a rest until the following day," Machuki told ‘The Standard’.
Death notification
A death notification, Serial Number 0069836, was issued for avoidance of doubt. The following day, Machuki and her relatives went to collect the body, but it could not be found. A watchman at the hospital told the relatives that a dog may have taken the body from the room and devoured it.
"As we cried, the watchman retorted that we had not given him a coffin to keep our body so we shouldn’t blame him. We searched all over the trenches to no avail," said a sobbing Moraa, Machuki’s mother-in-law.
It is traumatic enough to grieving a dead baby, but setting eyes on it is even harder. To scour the lengths and breadths of trenches looking for a baby must grip the heart of every mum with unimaginable anguish. But Machuki went through all that, and the police, in collaboration with Public Works Minister and Bobasi MP Chris Obure, launched a search.
Today, Machuki thanks Providence for the recovery of the baby after four days of agonising search. The baby was wrapped in a polythene bag and left on a path at Nyacheki township. In Mombasa, an 11-year-old schoolboy, Jamal Mohamed, was rescued after police intervened, but not before the payment of a Sh1 million ransom.
The suspects were arrested near Nyali Nakumatt after receiving the Sh1 million from the boy’s parents. Coast Provincial Criminal Investigation Officer Reche Nyaga confirmed the arrest and said the Standard Five pupil at Oshwal Academy had been rescued following the arrest.
"We arrested the suspects as they tried to escape and recovered two vehicles that were to be used as getaway cars. We also recovered the Sh1 million ransom," said Nyaga. He said they had suspected the kidnapping incident involved five people working with others.
Kidnappers grabbed boy
He said police detectives from various units arrested the suspects during a shoot-out. One suspect, however, escaped. Speaking at the scene of rescue, Nyaga said the suspects first demanded Sh10 million but eventually settled for Sh1 million.
Nyaga said the kidnappers had grabbed the boy near their house, covered his mouth and bundled him into a car. They then took him to a house behind Nyali Nakumatt. He explained that the boy was kidnapped by a woman and a man who threatened to stab him if he did not give them his mother’s phone number.
Nyaga said the gangsters threatened to kill the boy at a house in Nyali where he was locked in."The boy said the kidnappers stopped the vehicle where he was standing, got hold of him and covered his mouth with a piece of cloth," said Nyaga. The boy’s mother, Mrs Husna Mbarak, narrated how she got a message from the kidnappers demanding Sh10 million to release her son.
"At first, I thought it was a joke. But when I received a message from the kidnappers, I reported the matter to the police and my in-laws," she said. She recalled a man and woman kept demanding the ransom and threatened that the boy’s life would be in danger if she failed to release the money.
"I told them I did not have Sh10 million and pleaded that they reduce the figure," said Mbarak.
She recounted how the two gangsters negotiated the ransom with her and her in-law until they settled on Sh2 million last Saturday. However, they did not hand over the money to the kidnappers after they disagreed over where the ransom would be delivered.
She later agreed to give them Sh1 million behind Nyali Nakumatt. But police officers confronted the kidnappers soon after she had handed over the money at midnight. Her husband, Mr Mohamed Kadir, said he was informed of his son’s capture while attending an African Union meeting in Burundi. "I had to make arrangements to come home and liaise with the police to secure my son’s release," said Kadir.
Suspect shot dead
Police in Mombasa last night said they had shot dead one of the suspects. Coast PPO King’ori Mwangi said a pistol was found on him. The incidents are confirmation that criminal gangs and cartels are increasingly turning on children whom they kidnap for ransom, sexual exploitation or forced labour.
Although the two stories have a happy ending, they betray serious breaches of social mores as those expected to watch over children conspire to put them in harm’s way. "I thank God for helping us," said Machuki.
And her mother-in-law said: "I hardly slept and villagers called me a killer, a cannibal for the disappearance of the baby." Police took the baby to Gucha District hospital for check up. A crowd gathered at the hospital yesterday demanding that the perpetrators be brought to book.
Joyful villagers named the baby Joyce to reflect the collective effort of her search and eventual recovery. The hospital’s management committee held a meeting attended by Mr Obure, Gucha OCPD Richard Ng’etich and local councillors.
Addressing the crowd after the meeting, Obure termed the act satanic and called on police to ensure those involved are brought to book. The OCPD said the nurse and watchman who were on duty that day had been arrested and were held at Nyangusu Police Station and helping with investigation.
Gucha District Hospital Medical Superintendent Titus Kwambai said the mother and her baby were at the hospital for observation and the baby was in stable condition. Speaking from the post-natal care unit at the hospital, Machuki said she had spent sleepless nights since the baby disappeared.
"I have suffered a lot. When I was told the baby had been found, I fainted. I could not run with the rest so I waited for the news. All I want now is to go home," she told ‘The Standard’.
