Agony as 'friendly' woman steals baby

By Lina Benyawa

They are a friendly couple and therefore welcomed visitors to their house without discrimination.

They were new in Mombasa and were just friendly to everyone. Jared Otieno and his wife Dephine Akinyi had a seven-month-old son who kept his mother busy during the day when her husband went to work.

They welcomed any person who came to visit as they were keen to make friends. However, they didn’t know that their friendly nature would be exploited leaving them with tears and regrets.

Akinyi laments that she welcomed a woman to her house only for her to turn against them and steal their only child.

"She posed as a Kenya Red Cross Society officer and said they had a programme to teach young mothers how to feed and take care of their babies. Because I was a new mother, I welcomed her in my home," recalls Akinyi.

Akinyi, a resident of Bakarani in Kisauni, Mombasa County, says she had gone to a nearby grocery shop to buy some vegetables for lunch when the woman who was wearing a Kenya Red Cross Society T-shirt came to her and introduced herself as a worker with the organisation.

She was carrying her seven-month-old son Benson Nyangweso. The woman said they were training new mothers on how to wean their babies.

"She asked if she could accompany me to my house, and I agreed. She also asked me several questions about how I feed my baby," she says.

The fake officer then promised to come back the following week. A week later on November 16, the "officer" visited during lunch hour as promised.

Akinyi says she was feeding the baby at the time. She says she sat next to her closely monitoring what she was doing. She later asked if she was giving the baby some fruits.

"She really acted like a good woman who was concerned about the wellbeing of babies. That’s why I trusted her. After she was done writing on a notebook, she left in a hurry saying she had to visit some other mothers in the neighbourhood," recalls Akinyi.

On November 24 at around 2.30pm, the woman visited Akinyi again. This time she said she was in a hurry because they had a fun day for children at Bamburi. She explained that she had gone to take Akinyi and the baby for the fun day.

"The woman then asked me to prepare my son and carry enough clothes for him in a bag since there would be some photo shoots and there was need to change some clothes. I obliged, took my husband’s bag and put extra clothes for the baby," reveals Akinyi.

"When I went back to the sitting room, she had already carried the bag and asked me to take the baby. I followed her outside and walked towards the matatu stage," she adds.

A short distance from the house, the "officer" asked Akinyi if she had carried the baby clinic card for the purpose of examining the growth of the baby and how often he has been taken to the clinic.

The woman asked Akinyi to give her the baby and run to the house to pick the card, saying she would be waiting for her.

"But when I came back, she had left with my baby. I thought they were waiting for me at the bus terminus because it was a few metres away. I rushed there but found no one. That’s when I started to get worried and started to ask people at the stage," she says.

She didn’t know how to explain to her husband how she lost her baby as he wasn’t aware of the visits by the woman to their home.

"My wife was new to this neighbourhood. She had just spent three months in the area so she didn’t know anyone. She did not even get the contacts of the said woman," explains Otieno.

Akinyi says she was traumatised at the time and couldn’t talk. She says all she did was cry after losing her only son, blaming herself for having invited a stranger to her house.

They immediately reported the incident at Bamburi Police Station.

"I wish there was something that could assist us to locate the woman so that we get my son. We even went to the Red Cross offices in Mombasa but they denied having such programmes. We don’t know how to start looking for my son," he adds.

Otieno says they have engaged the help of religious leaders with the hope of finding their son. Being a young family, the incident has devastated them.

The officer who is investigating the case, Mr Boniface Muli, says they are still looking for the baby adding that they will not rest until they find him.

"We have not yet traced the baby, but I believe that we will get him. I am currently at Kiganjo training and I have handed over the case to one of my colleagues at Bamburi Police Station," says Muli.