• All are in primary and secondary schools in Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos counties and had been there for hours.
• It is not clear if their parents were aware of the meeting.
Image: FILE
Forty-four schoolchildren and their host were arrested on Saturday and drugs and alcohol seized in an operation on Nairobi’s Mountain View Estate.
The crackdown was triggered by a tip-off from residents on the existence of a cartel targeting schoolgirls in the city. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said the children comprised 26 boys and 18 girls aged between 14 and 17.
All are in primary and secondary schools in Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos counties and had been there for hours, the police said. It is not clear if their parents were aware of the meeting.
The officers contacted some of their parents following the raid. The host, a 41-year-old woman, was interrogated by detectives attached to the Dagoretti police command. Bhang and different brands of whisky and vodka were nabbed.
DCI boss George Kinoti said investigations were ongoing to establish how the children left their homes and travelled that far without raising suspicion from their parents.
“Police also want to establish why the woman had hosted the children and how the children got to her house.
“The DCI once again requests parents to take keen interest in their children’s activities at home and on social media networks,” he said.
On Sunday, the team handling the case visited Thika in efforts to trace the place where the girls may have been partying. Their mission was unsuccessful.
The team said the girls were uncooperative and some of their parents are now afraid of what may befall them later.
Officers from Child Trafficking Unit, however, said they were determined to crack the gang. “In a matter of time, we will crack this,” said an officer aware of the probe.
While they had not yet established whether it was a case of sex trafficking, Dagoretti police chief Francis Wahome told the Star detectives were exploring all options by casting their net wide.
"The probe is ongoing and we are still looking for more suspects," Wahome said.
This comes in the wake of revelations of an existing active group that is luring schoolgirls to orgy house parties in Nairobi. It uses social media account named Carty-gang-ent to lure the girls for the orgies that run for days.
Earlier reported was an incident in which six girls who had been missing for almost a week were found in a house in Nairobi after their parents raised the alarm.
The girls had been shooting naked videos of their activities in the house in Thika town and shared them with a few friends. Three of the girls are still in police custody as the said host is being sought. He is said to be a doctor.
When they showed up at the Central police station hours after their relatives had raised the red flag, the teens said they were "killing boredom" away from home, adding that there was no cause for alarm.
They did not seem bothered that their action had caused anxiety. The police have since seized their mobile phones for further analysis as they probe the ring behind their moves.