‘Return my baby to me,’ Narok mother pleads

Emmah Njoki and her husband John Mwangi at their home at Fanaka estate in Narok.

January 3, 2017 remains the darkest moment for a couple in Narok as it was the day they lost their 18-month-old baby to kidnappers.

It has been an agonising three months for the family, that lives in Fanaka estate, after their baby girl —Ann Wanjiru— was stolen when her mother was drugged on her way to hospital.

Emmah Njoki, 35, the baby’s mother, said her daughter Ann Wanjiru was ill and she was taking her to Ewaso Nyiro Dispensary in neighbouring Narok South when she was offered a ‘lift’ in a black vehicle, the make of the vehicle was Sienta.

“I entered the vehicle at Midrock along the Narok-Bomet road. The vehicle had three occupants, two men and a woman. We embarked on the journey but when we approached Ewaso Nyiro South where I was supposed to alight, I told them to stop but they hit me with a piece of cloth,” a teary Njoki narrated.

She said she blacked out only to wake up in Mosocho, Kisii and found her baby was nowhere to be seen. Her screams for help attracted passersby who took her to the nearby police station to make the report.

She was, however, referred back to Narok where she comes from and where the police said the offense took place.

Njoki said the three spoke in Kisii, so she could not understand what they were saying but she is certain she can identify the woman. “That woman had a distinct physical appearance. Her teeth were aligned in a way that is unusual and I would recognise her anywhere if I saw her,” she said.

The distraught mother said they had taken her treasure and pleaded to have her innocent child returned to her.

Ann’s father, John Mwangi, 45, a casual labourer, was lost for words but appealed to the police and members of the public who are aware of his daughter’s whereabouts to come forward and report the matter.

“I am really pained. As a family, we have not wronged anyone in any way for our baby to be snatched from us just like that. Anyone with information about our Ann should assist us knowing the pain we are undergoing as parents,” he said.

The baby’s disappearance has, however, caused a rift in their relationship with the husband blaming his wife, forcing the couple to go their separate ways.

“I feel there is more than meets the eye in this whole thing. I am not saying she sold the baby but I just will not allow her back until I see my baby,” Mwangi said.

On her part, Njoki a mother of two, defended herself against the accusations saying as a mother, the baby meant a lot to her adding she would not have willfully done anything to hurt her child.

She says despite numerous follow-ups with the police, there have been no reliable leads only endless promises.

Area OCPD Paul Kiogora acknowledged having the woman record the statement with the police but said she has not gone back to them on the progress.

“It is true she recorded the statement on the missing baby which we are still investigating but she has never gotten back to us on any leads that she got regarding the baby for the police to act,” he said.