Mother held hours after giving birth

A woman was arrested and locked up at Nyeri Central Police Station hours after giving birth.

Monica Wamweru, 21, was picked up by a police officer, who was accompanied by her boss, on Wednesday morning at Nyeri County Referral Hospital. The first time mother was forced to leave her newborn in hospital, unattended.

Ms Wamweru's employer accused her of stealing Sh90,000 from his M-Pesa shop where she worked. Her husband Joseph Irungu, 22, said Wamweru developed labour pains on Monday night, moments after returning home from work.

"We took her to hospital and on Tuesday at around 2pm, she gave birth to a baby girl. But on Wednesday at around 10am, a police officer accompanied by the shop owner went to the hospital and arrested her," he said.

Mr Irungu said his wife was first taken to the M-Pesa shop, before she was bundled into a car and taken to Nyeri Central Police Station.

Wamweru said her employer accused her of using the Nyeri County Referral Hospital as a hideout.

"I did not steal any money from the shop. I cleared as usual on Monday and I took the day's collection to another office where I handed over the money to a colleague," she said. Wamweru said she did not record the day's collection in account books.

"I tried to explain this to the police officer and my boss but they would hear none of it. All the money was intact," she said.

Wamweru said only Sh59,000 was missing.

"They took me and my colleague to the police station where they tortured us as they told us to produce the money," she added. The two were rescued by the Officer Commanding Police Station.