Child trafficking case moved to Nairobi

From right to left: Lucresia Magabi, Jackson Onchari and Dorcas Nyanchoka during a past court proceeding in Kehancha. [File, Standard]

A case in which three people have been charged with stealing an 18-month-old child and trafficking her across the Kenya-Tanzania border in Migori has been transferred to Nairobi.

Lucresia Magabi, who claims to be a pastor, first appeared before Kehancha Principal Magistrate Linus Mesa alongside two other people on July 22. They denied charges of child trafficking and were remanded for seven days.

Yesterday, Migori CID boss Njeru Nyaga said the case was being transferred to Nairobi where most of the witnesses and some of the accused persons were based.

Magabi and her assistants, Jackson Onchari and Dorcas Nyonchora, were arrested at the Isebania border crossing by customs staff as they crossed back into Kenya.

Magabi, who said she was a Tanzanian married to a Kenyan, had told both the police and the court that another woman, Pamela Aoko, had allegedly sold her the child.

Aoko was later arrested in Nairobi's Mathare estate and moved to Migori last week.

"The case is being taken to Nairobi because most of the offenses were committed there. As you can see, the second suspect was arrested in Nairobi,” said Mr Nyaga, adding that they were seeking to establish the identity of the child's mother.