Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) rescued two minors who were stolen from Nairobi yesterday at Busia border.
The house help reportedly escaped with the minors on Saturday when their parents travel to Meru for a funeral.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that the offence was committed while the children’s parents had travelled to Meru to attend a kin’s burial,” said detectives.
The children aged eight and four were stolen at their city estate house on Saturday while under the custody of 32-year-old Scovia Namataka.
According to the DCI, detectives based in Buruburu, Nairobi worked with their counterparts at the Busia border to intercept the suspect who was in a bus headed to Uganda.
The suspect is in lawful custody awaiting arraignment.
Separate, Kenya’s human trafficking routes 2020 report released in September, confirmed that human trafficking is prevalent in Kenya and the unrelenting traffickers are casting their nets wider to identify new routes to prey on more victims.
According to the report, Finland and Somaliland are additional countries of origin of victims while Ethiopia, Namibia, Thailand, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Netherlands and Rwanda are additional destinations with Kenya still used as a transit point for the new entrants.
The joint report between Stop the Traffic Kenya and Freedom Collaborative further shows that the syndicates collude with different law enforcement and immigration departments to transport victims through, from and to Kenya the main reason the country is marked as a source, destination and transit hotspot for human trafficking.
“As noted in the data submissions, corruption at border points is common with officers complicit in preparing and providing fake documents for victims, which allow them to cross,” the report reads.
The study identified 17 transit routes used to smuggle victims through Kenya from other countries. They include Busia, Nambale, Rongo and Malaba (western Kenya bordering Uganda), Garissa, Moyale, Mandera, Kismayo, Liboi and Marsabit (North Eastern Kenya bordering Somalia and Ethiopia), Mwingi and Isiolo in the eastern part connected to the northern frontier. Others routes identified are Isebania, Namanga, Kwale, Taveta and Mombasa (connecting Kenya to Tanzania).
By Joy Kyalo