City Affairs

Woman charged with stealing five-year-old child at crusade in Nakuru

Caroline Achieng in the dock at the Makadara Law Courts. (Photo: Joseph Ndunda)

By Joseph Ndunda | Friday, March 22, 2024

Achieng denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi and claimed to be seriously ill.

A 38-year-old woman who allegedly stole a five-year-old child at Kaptembwa Stadium in Nakuru during Prophet David Owuor's Crusade last week is facing charges of child theft at the Makadara Law Courts.

Caroline Achieng was charged with stealing the child, contrary to Section 174(1) of the Penal Code, where she is accused of stealing the child identified as CN in court documents, on March 16, 2024.

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The girl child's mother, who is a worshipper at the Repentance and Holiness Church Embu branch, had travelled with the child from Embu County to attend the crusade when she lost her child.

The matter was reported to the crusade's organizer's security desk, which made several announcements about a missing child, requesting any congregant to report to security or drop the child off at the security desk.

However, the crusade ended without the child being found, and the matter was reported at Kaptembwa Police Station on March 18, 2024. Police circulated a missing child's report.

Two days later, Achieng was seen with the child by her neighbours at Masimba in Kayole Estate, Nairobi, who questioned her about the child. They knew she did not have a child.

The members of the public escorted Achieng to the Masimba Police post after she failed to explain where she had gotten the child, as they knew that she had been previously charged with stealing a child.

Police in Nairobi contacted their counterparts in Nakuru to trace the parent who had lost the child to come to Nairobi and identify her, and the child was reunited with the family as Achieng was placed in custody.

During investigations, the child's mother told the police that, at some point, she slept during the crusade only to wake up and find the child missing.

Achieng denied the charges before Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi and claimed to be seriously ill.

She was remanded at the Langaata Women's Prison until April 18, when the court will set bail and bond terms for her after receiving a probation officer's report.

Some of Achieng's neighbours and a Nyumba Kumi official who was among those who interrogated her on suspicion of having stolen a child are witnesses in the case.

Other witnesses include the child's mother and a bishop at the church, who travelled with the child's mother from Embu to Nakuru County.