This archive report was first published on 5 May 2020.
On 4 April, a German national suspected of paedophilia narrowly escaped a police dragnet in Kwale County. Thomas Scheller, a 21-day detainee, is now facing investigation into allegations of human trafficking, defilement, child abuse, and trading in pornographic material.
According to Officer Lawrence Okoth Okoth, attached to the women and children's rights division of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Scheller had been linked to a German-based child abuser who allegedly received pornographic materials video-taped in Kwale County and its environs.
"Police have been following the movements of the suspect who escaped a dragnet in Kwale on April 4," Okoth told Milimani Principal Magistrate Carolyne Muthoni Nzibe.
Okoth further stated that police found Scheller in Kisumu town with a 15-year-old primary school pupil mid-April. However, he managed to evade capture once again.
On 20 April, Scheller resurfaced in Nairobi, despite the cessation of movement orders to curb the spread of the coronavirus. He was eventually arrested at the entrance to the German embassy with the male pupil on Monday.
Okoth requested the magistrate to allow police to detain the suspect for 60 days, citing the nature of the investigation and the immense travelling involved. However, the magistrate ordered Scheller's detention for 21 days, stating that the period would be extended if necessary.
