By Betty Luke
For six weeks, Kenneth Mwirigi and Fridah Gakii lived in despair following the disappearance of their months old baby from their rented house in Mwangaza village, Isiolo County.
Ms Gakii had gone to the salon near her home on March 1, 2025 to have her hair done. Having no one to leave the then three-month-old boy with, she opted to also tag along her other older child.
While at the salon, a stranger came in and requested to be allowed to sit there while ostensibly waiting for someone who had allegedly asked her to wait at the nearby salon.
She says the stranger, only identified as Nancy, interacted with her older child noting that at some point she (Nancy) even helped unplait the young girl’s hair.
“I never imagined she had ulterior motives from the manner in which she interacted with my child,”Ms Gakii told The Press Point.
After sometime, Ms Gakii decided to take the baby back home as her husband had come back from his errands.
She would later be shocked on learning that the husband had handed over the child to the stranger.
“She told me my wife was asking for the baby to breastfeed her. At first I was reluctant but after asking my older daughter if she knew her, she said the woman unplaited her hair at the salon. I was convinced and gave her the baby,” recalls Mr Mwirigi.
Nearly an hour later, the older child came back to the salon and wondered where her brother was. She notified the mother that the baby had been brought to the salon by the ‘aunt’ who was unplaiting her hair.
“I rushed home to confirm what exactly had happened. My fears were confirmed after arriving home. My baby was not there. That was the start of my hardest moments of life,”she said.
Efforts to trace the suspect were all futile due to the inexistence of cctv cameras in the area. The family placed their hope in God and the investigators hoping that one day they would reunite with their son.
Weeks later, they would receive a tip off of a woman who had been employed as a househelpp in nearby Ruaraka center and had allegedly terminated her pregnancy.
Reports indicate the suspect had called some of her friends notifying them that she had a baby and had moved to her husband’s home within Rei Village in Meru County.
One of the residents reached out to the family to enquire about the lost baby, prompting a serious search that led investigators to the suspect’s home.
The baby was recovered from the suspect’s home in Meru Monday night.
“This was our only boy. Losing him felt like the world had collapsed. I couldn’t eat, sleep, or work,”narrated Mr Mwirigi.
Fridah said her days were filled with tears and hopelessness,”I cried every single day. The silence in the house was unbearable. We relied on well-wishers for a livelihood as we could no longer work.”
While some residents turned against them, accusing them of carelessness and even selling their baby, many stood by them.
“Many neighbors were so supportive. They brought us food, gave us money, and offered psychosocial support. That helped us hold on,” noted Mwirigi.
Area Manager Ben Karithi hailed the investigators and the community noting that their concerted efforts had finally yielded fruits.
He called on authorities to take firm action against the suspects to serve as a warning to other people who steal children for different reasons.
“We urge the government to ensure justice is served. This case has caused pain not only to the family but to the entire community,” he said.
The suspects are currently in police custody awaiting arraignment upon completion of the ongoing investigations.
