Woman who stole baby in church charged in court
A 23-year-old woman has been charged with stealing a one-and-half-month-old baby during a church service within the city centre.
Mercy Akinyi Otieno, a housewife, allegedly stole the toddler on January 31 at the Jesus Teaching Ministry, which is located at Kahawa House on Haile Selassie Avenue.
“The accused person fraudulently took away the infant with an intent to deprive its mother lawful care and possession,” the prosecution said.
According to the infant’s mother, Jeridah Oundo Shikanda, she had gone to church with her husband as well as their son.
TRUSTWORTHY STRANGER
The church is situated on the second floor of the said building and as the service went on, she went to the washrooms on the first floor to change her baby’s wet clothes.
It is then that she met the accused person who told her that she came from her native home in Khayega, Kakamega and they quickly started a conversation in vernacular.
And as they got cozier with each other, the mother left her child with the stranger and went to purchase some drinking water and caught up with them later.
Assuming that the stranger was trustworthy, she, for the second time, left her with the child and went inside the church to collect her husband.
WENT MISSING
But a second thought told her to wait for him outside since the service was almost ending.
Upon her return, however, both her child and the stranger were missing and efforts to find them were fruitless.
Together with her husband, they reported the incident at Kamukunji and the accused was arrested at Ongata Rongai after being found with the lost child.
While appearing before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi, the accused denied the charge of stealing a child. The case is set to be heard on March 27.