Chaotic scenes were witnessed on a section of the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway as angry youth blocked the busy road to protest the death of an infant. Onlookers at the scene in Zambezi where a dead infant was found dumped. Photo: Alex Laisa. Source: UGC The highway was blocked in Zambezi on Thursday, October 30. A newborn had been found dead and left outside a nearby residential estate. According to witnesses, the mother of the infant gave birth and abandoned it shortly thereafter. . It died due to the extreme cold it was exposed to.
Why Nairobi-Nakuru Highway was blocked The locals endeavoured to get help from the police to retrieve the deceased newborn and initiate investigations, but all efforts were in vain. To compel police action, they dragged rocks onto the road, causing a massive traffic jam that eventually caught the attention of law enforcement. “A woman gave birth, likely last night, and placed the newborn behind the gate of an apartment near the highway. The baby was left uncovered and is believed to have died from the cold. Youth passing by attempted to save the child but found it lifeless. They called the police to collect the body, but the response was delayed. In frustration, they dragged large stones onto the road to force police intervention. The highway remained blocked for nearly four hours, causing a traffic jam that stretched from Zambezi to Gitaru and beyond. Police eventually arrived around 12 p.m., cleared the road, and began handling the situation,” Alex Laisa, a witness, told TUKO.co.ke.
Transport activities were disrupted in Zambezi along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway where a newborn child was found dead and abandoned. Photo: Alex Laisa. Source: UGC How passersby discovered dead newborn in Zambezi Laisa was among those who took the initiative to seek police assistance. He told this publication that the mother of the infant was not known, but she was suspected to be a resident. It was still unclear why she chose that particular spot to leave the newborn. “We were passing by in the morning and discovered a child at the gate. We found it was a newly born infant left alone. We walked toward it and found it had died, possibly due to the harsh weather conditions. We covered it and moved it out of public view, placing it just inside the gate. We then contacted the police to come and pick it up, but to no avail. From 6 a.m. until 12 noon, that’s when the police finally showed up. Without the traffic disruption, the police would not have responded,” he said.
In reaction to the heavy snarlup on the road, police from Kikuyu sub-county arrived and collected the child, taking it to the mortuary as they began efforts to identify it. Locals suspect the mother may not have been prepared for the responsibilities of parenthood, but maintained that abandoning a child is unacceptable. “It is heartbreaking that someone can carry a pregnancy to term only to discard the baby after birth. If one feels unable to care for a child, why not seek help earlier? Young girls must understand that life is sacred. I would rather you care for the child through hardship, because eventually, things do get better,” said Linda Cherotich, another eyewitness.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
