DNA test for baby claimed by 2 couples

Moses Aura at home in Kwa Rhonda estate, Nakuru County. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

A baby allegedly stolen from a couple in Nakuru County six weeks ago is now at the centre of a parentage dispute.

This is after a woman and her husband arrested in Teso South with the infant claimed to be the parents. The man is a soldier while the women is a housewife.

The child was ferried to Nakuru from Busia on Sunday after Moses Aura and his wife Calend Mwajuma reported that their infant was missing.

The couple had told the police that their child was stolen at home on July 1 when she was left under the care of a neighbour.

They said the baby was born at the Nakuru Level Five Hospital on May 25.

But the Busia couple, who are being held at Kwa Rhonda Police Station, have insisted that the baby was delivered at their Lanet home on July 15.

They produced a clinic booklet from a health centre that showed the woman had attended five ante-natal check-ups since January 15, as well as a post-natal exam on July 30.

They told police that the mother and baby traveled to their rural home on July 28.

Police now say they will go to court today to ask for an order to conduct DNA tests to determine the child’s parentage.

Biological parents

“The tests will be to ascertain who are the child’s biological parents because both couples claim the baby is theirs. Samples will be extracted from four people,” said Nakuru Town West police commander Patrick Olonyi.

He, however, noted that the clinic booklet presented by the Busia couple during investigations was new.

“The couple maintains that the baby was born at home although they have a new clinic booklet that indicates the woman attended ante-natal clinics. We are investigating the matter to find out who handed over the booklet because we sense collusion that might be aimed at defeating justice,” Mr Olonyi said.

He added that more people might be arrested to help police resolve the matter.

Ms Mwajuma said she had gone to a nearby market at around 2pm and left the infant sleeping on a chair. When she returned after an hour, the baby was missing.

The neighbour who had agreed to check on the baby said she did not not know her whereabouts. She claimed to have heard someone open the door and thought that the couple was back home.

Police in Nakuru said they liaised with their counterparts in Busia to arrest the couple last Sunday.

Mr Aura, who also travelled to Busia with his wife, claimed that residents told them they doubted whether the woman had given birth, and that they had never seen her breastfeed.

The baby has been handed over to a children’s home in Barut.