Father seeks police help to trace infant sold for Sh18,000

The father of a Busia infant who was allegedly sold to their in-laws for Sh18,000 has appealed to the police to help the family trace the baby.

Bernard Ojiambo Oduori on Monday told the Star his two-weeks-old baby was sold by the mother to her eldest sister who lives in Nairobi. The woman is reportedly childless.

He wants police to arrest the mother and her sister and the infant returned to the family.

The baby's mother, who was identified as Violet, is said to have left their home in  Nambengele village in Bunyala, Busia county on December 27 to visit her parents in Samia in Funyula constituency.

"She returned on December 31 without the baby. When asked why, she said her parents had detained the child," Ojiambo said.

The baby's grandmother Rose Oduori said the two families had no differences that could have warranted the detention of the baby. She said her daughter-in-law had disappeared from home without the knowledge of her husband.

Ojiambo said he was unable to establish his wife's whereabouts as she declined to pick calls. After following with his in-laws, Ojiambo said he realised the wife had instead sold the baby.

"She lied to her parents that the baby was not her and that she had only picked the infant from a forest near the Hakati Army Barracks," Ojiambo said.

Violet told the parents that the baby had been dumped in the forest.

It was established that Violet had schemed with her sister Nekesa to sell her the baby for Sh18,000. Nekesa lives in Nairobi. She was to pay the cash in installments, Ojiambo said.

The man said his wife had never visited her ancestral home during her pregnancy and as such, it was easy to lie to her parents that the baby was not hers.

"We are appealing to officers at Muthangari police station to arrest the woman alleged to have bought our two-weeks-old baby so that legal action can be taken against her," Ojiambo said.

edited by p. obuya