This archive report was first published on 18 October 2021.
On October 18, 2021, the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) announced the arrest of two women, aged 47 and 62, for allegedly stealing a baby from an ailing mother in Kenya.
The suspects, who were known to the mother, presented themselves as aunties during her delivery and altered the baby's birth notification to conceal their action.
According to the DCI, the police received a tip from a member of the public who noticed the 47-year-old suspect with a newborn baby.
The husband of the suspect revealed that he wasn't aware that his wife was pregnant until she appeared holding a day-old toddler that she wouldn't breastfeed.
Despite being caught, the 47-year-old insisted that the baby was hers, stating that she had concealed her pregnancy from her family.
However, forensic medical examinations and DNA tests conducted at Webuye County Hospital and a different hospital in Kisumu contradicted the suspect's allegations.
It was at this point that the 47-year-old suspect revealed their well-orchestrated plan, disclosing that she had desired to have a baby.
Thorough interrogations on the duo established that the 47-year-old had called the 67-year-old early in the year, asking her to find ways of getting her a baby.
The 17-year-old mother was reunited with her baby, and the duo was arraigned before the Webuye Law Courts on October 18, 2021.
A bond ruling will be made on October 25, and further investigations are ongoing.
