This archive report was first published on 18 July 2020.
On a somber note, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has spoken out about the alarming number of infants being dumped in rivers around the city, calling on young mothers to seek help if they find raising babies an impossible challenge.
Speaking after his Sonko Rescue Team retrieved the body of a 1.5-year-old infant from the Ngong River in Embakasi South on Friday, Sonko emphasized that there is always the option of giving up the babies to foster homes should push come to shove.
Since Sonko launched the monthly cleanup exercise in July 2018, the SRT and the Comb Green Solutions groups have retrieved 25 bodies from rivers around the city, including 20 infants and five adults.
Abdi Kware, head of Sonko Rescue Team in Embakasi South, reported that the body was retrieved near the Kware slums and buried along the River, following a normal clean-up exercise.
Early last week, the group members found another body of an infant and reported it at Kware police post under OB number 6/10/7/2020.
Following the increased cases of infants being dumped in the rivers, Sonko urged troubled mothers facing life challenges to reach out to the County for help or find ways of leaving the babies near child care homes.
"I am calling on mothers to bring these little angels to us where we can help them in some of our facilities for child care instead of leaving them to die," Sonko said.
He has also called on mothers who may have conceived babies against their will or feel not ready to take care of the babies not to shy away from seeking help through the Sonko Rescue Team or at The sub-county offices.
"They must come out and speak so that we can chip in where it’s possible to save the lives of innocent babies," Sonko emphasized.
