This archive report was first published on 15 January 2020.
On September 11, 2019, a 16-year-old girl from Bandari Village in Ganze Sub County gave birth to a baby, which she then killed and secretly buried in a shallow grave.
However, the infant's body was later dug up and eaten by dogs.
The incident was reported to the police by Area Assistant Chief Charo Hinzano, who informed local residents of the matter.
The teenager was arrested, taken to Kilifi Police Station, and later arraigned in the children's court.
She was taken for medical tests at the Kilifi Referral Hospital before being committed to a borstal institution in Malindi for three years.
According to the court, the girl had dropped out of secondary school in the second term after her pregnancy developed, forcing her to spend most of her time indoors at home.
She initially denied the charges but later changed her plea to guilty, stating that she had delivered a stillbirth and decided to bury it without her parents' knowledge, as her boyfriend had declined to take responsibility for the baby.
The accused's father told the court that he was not aware of the pregnancy due to his illness, which prevented him from paying the required school fees.
Her mother, however, expressed anger at her daughter's actions and asked the court to take the necessary action by law.
On January 15, 2020, Kilifi Resident Magistrate Sifuna Daniel Sitati committed the teenage girl to serve her sentence at Kakae Girls Borstal Institution in Malindi Sub County.
