In an alleged plot to swindle money from her husband working in Qatar, a woman from Kitengela is reported to have stolen her friend’s child to sustain a lie that she had given birth.
Florence Chibole is accused of kidnapping a one-year, seven-month-old child belonging to Sitella Adhiambo on 28 June. She has since been charged with child abduction.
Two years ago, Chibole bid farewell to her husband as he relocated to Qatar for work. Before his departure, they had both confirmed that she was pregnant.
The couple remained in regular contact, with Chibole updating her husband on the progress of the pregnancy. However, she reportedly suffered a miscarriage but failed to inform him of the loss. In March 2024, she falsely claimed to have given birth.
The husband continued to send her money to cover household expenses, including those for the fabricated delivery.
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To reinforce her deception, Chibole sent him a photograph of a baby, prompting him to send more money for the child’s upkeep. However, the husband grew suspicious when she dismissed his mother’s request to meet her alleged granddaughter.
The lies unravelled when the husband returned to Kenya and demanded to see the baby. Upon finding no trace of a child at their home, Chibole claimed that the baby was staying with her sister.
She then allegedly devised a plan to obtain a baby. Boarding a matatu from Kitengela to Mathare, she visited her friend Sitella, under the guise of playing with and feeding her baby. The unsuspecting Sitella left her child with Chibole for a short while, but upon returning, found both the child and the accused missing.
Sitella began asking around. A person familiar with Chibole informed her that she had been seen leaving with the child.
Chibole is said to have boarded a matatu back to Kitengela and presented the child to her husband, claiming she was their daughter. However, the child appeared older than expected. Later, they took the baby to the husband’s mother’s home
Meanwhile, Sitella persistently called Chibole, demanding the return of her daughter. DCI officers based in Mathare, who had been tracking Chibole, were already waiting at her Kitengela home.
Upon interrogation, Chibole denied having the toddler. But after further questioning, she led officers to her mother-in-law’s house in Dagoretti, where the child was recovered.
Both Chibole and her mother-in-law were taken to a nearby police station where a report of child abduction was filed. The case was later transferred to Utalii Police Post for further investigation.
The child was reunited with her mother. Following the probe, Chibole’s mother-in-law was released after it was established that she was not involved in the abduction.
Chibole denied the charge before Makadara Senior Resident Magistrate Wandia Nyamu, who ordered that she be remanded in custody pending the submission of a pre-bail report on her safety, scheduled to be tabled on 31 July.