Three senior medical officers arrested for child trafficking - IG

 

The Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai on Wednesday announced that his team has unearthed a child trafficking syndicate in Nairobi.

In a statement, Mutyambai said that senior medical officers have been colluding with the child smugglers to commit the crime.

The IG said that investigations linked the crime to local public hospitals and children's homes within Nairobi.

“So far, three medical officers from a public hospital in Nairobi have been arrested in connection with the offence and will be arraigned,” Mutyambai said.

The IG added that the ongoing investigations might lead to the arrest of more culprits.

Mutyambai has directed all the police commanders to closely work with the local children’s officers and other local security agencies to undertake investigations and operations regarding the same with immediate effect.

Also, members of the public have been asked to voluntarily give information to the police on any suspicious activity relating to crimes, more so on child trafficking.

This comes days after a BBC expose, where babies are being stolen to order in Kenya to feed a thriving black market, where they are being sold for Sh50,000 if the child is a girl or Sh80,000 for a boy.

The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji in its annual report revealed that more than 170 cases of human trafficking have been listed in courts. 

The report was handed over to President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday at State House by DPP Noordin Haji.

The report indicates that a total of 174 cases were registered, where a total of 88 cases have been concluded with a conviction rate of 97.33 per cent. 

The number of cases concluded as well as conviction rate has improved from the average of 78 cases concluded and 92.86% conviction rate attained in the years 2017/2018 and 2018/2019.

109 cases were recorded as having been facilitated entry into or exit out of the country. Out of this, seven are convictions on the plea of guilty.

A total of 47 are convictions after full trial while five cases were withdrawn.