A 5-year-old girl stolen at Prophet OWUOR’s crusade in Nakuru traced to a woman’s house in Nairobi’s Kayole Estate

Tuesday, March 26, 2024 - A 38-year-old woman was arraigned in court for stealing a five-year-old girl during Prophet David Owuor’s crusade held last week in Nakuru.

The suspect, Caroline Achieng, appeared before Makadara Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi, where she was charged with stealing the child, contrary to Section 174 (1) of the Penal Code. Achieng is accused of committing the offence on Saturday, March 16, in Nakuru County.

Court documents indicate that the minor's mother, who is also a member of Prophet David Owuor's Repentance and Holiness Church Embu branch, had travelled with the child to the Nakuru event when she found out that her daughter was missing.

She reported the matter to the crusade’s organiser’s desk, who made numerous announcements about the missing child.

Unfortunately, the crusade ended without the child being found, prompting the organisers and the mother to report the matter at Kaptembwa Police Station.

 Police also circulated a missing child's report on Monday, March 18.

The missing girl was spotted two days later at Achieng’s residence by hawk-eyed neighbours.

 “The neighbours had never seen her with a baby. When they saw her with the girl they sought to know whose child it was and where she had gotten her from,” the  report read.

She was escorted to Masimba Police Post where she struggled to explain how she got the girl under her care.

Cops at Nairobi’s Masimba Police Post reached out to their counterparts in Nakuru to locate the woman who had filed a missing child's report to help identify the baby in Achieng's possession.

During the investigation, the child's mother informed the police that she had fallen asleep during the crusade and discovered the child missing upon waking.

Achieng refuted the allegations of wrongdoing before Senior Principal Magistrate Mary Njagi, citing her serious illness.

She was detained at Lang'ata Women's Prison until April 18, pending the court's consideration of bail and bond terms after receiving a probation officer's report.

Several of Achieng's neighbours and a Nyumba Kumi official, who interrogated her on suspicion of child theft, are witnesses in the case.

The Kenyan DAILY POST.