Police deny possible child trafficking syndicate in Likoni

Missing baby Precious Jerop / BRIAN OTIENO

The family of three-year-old Precious Jerop has lived in agony for the past 10 days after she disappeared on March 20 and has not been seen since.

She was last seen in the company of a neighbour in their Likoni neighbourhood, who had lived with them for quite some time.

The family reported the matter at Likoni police station, where it was booked under OB 37/20/03/26.

Jerop’s grandmother, Mishpa Chepkemoi, said the neighbour travelled to Voi, where he was last tracked via his phone by police officers investigating the case—hours after Jerop was discovered missing—raising questions.

“When the police tracked the neighbour’s phone, he was found to be in Voi. The police asked us not to call the number, saying it would interfere with their tracking as it would alert the suspect,” she said.

Chepkemoi said the family has been living in agony ever since, frequently visiting the police station in the hope of receiving updates, only to leave disappointed.

“We have not been getting any meaningful progress. We are slowly losing hope,” a tearful Chepkemoi said on Saturday at Likoni police station.

She Rises, a civil society organisation led by Salma Hemed, said Jerop’s case is not the only one they are handling.

Hemed said the manner in which police are handling the matter is unsatisfactory and leaves much to be desired.

“It reached a point where the police felt the family was a nuisance and asked them to look for the suspect themselves. Is that even professional? What is the work of the police?" Hemed posed.

"Why do they want to sit comfortably in their office while the complainant looks for a suspect the police are supposed to be pursuing?” 

James Nakitare, a religious leader in Likoni, said the police must act responsibly and intensify efforts to find Jerop.

“You cannot tell a victim to look for the kidnapper of their child,” he said.

He added that such careless utterances by police officers damage the image of the National Police Service in the eyes of the public.

According to civil society groups in Mombasa, Jerop’s case is not isolated.

In the last two weeks alone, seven such cases have been recorded.

Muslims for Human Rights rapid response officer Francis Auma said they have documented seven cases, with at least four of the victims—all girls under the age of 10—having been traced to neighbouring Tanzania.

“We are concerned about this pattern. How are these individuals crossing the border undetected into neighbouring Tanzania?” he asked on Sunday.

“Does it mean the perpetrators prepare travel documents for their victims? How do they pass immigration at the borders? There are many questions that need answers.”

Hemed noted that these cases are from Likoni subcounty alone.

Four days ago, four Grade 9 girls from a school in Likoni were found in Tanzania after going missing for three days.

They had left their homes on Monday morning for school but never returned, prompting their parents to contact the school.

The school administration informed them that the four had not reported to school that day, triggering panic.

Following police investigations, the girls were found in Tanzania, where they had been detained.

Police said the girls appeared to have meticulously planned their movement, suggesting possible external assistance.

“They had hidden their civilian clothes in their bags and did not carry books,” a police source told the Star.

One parent said they received a call from a village elder in Tanzania informing them that their daughter had been found roaming in a village while looking for a job.

The girls were last spotted in Diani, Kwale county, boarding a bus to Tanzania.

The incident followed another case in which two Kenyan schoolgirls were also found in Tanzania looking for jobs.

They were detained pending deportation back to Kenya.

Parents and police suspect the existence of a child trafficking syndicate in Likoni luring young girls into Tanzania.

However, Likoni subcounty police commander Joseph Kyalo denied the existence of such a syndicate, insisting that all the cases are isolated.

“The girls who went to Tanzania were looking for jobs. We interrogated them in the presence of officers from the children’s department, and they said they acted on their own volition,” he told the Star on the phone.

“When they started asking for jobs, they raised suspicion in Tanzania. A village elder asked for their parents’ contact details and called them.”

Kyalo said Baby Precious’s case is linked to a love triangle but noted that investigations are ongoing.

He confirmed that a suspect, Katana Wato, is in custody and assisting with investigations.

“There is no child trafficking syndicate. These are isolated cases, but we are in the final stages of recovering Baby Precious,” Kyalo said.

The incidents come amid fears of rising femicide cases, which have also drawn concern from Senator Miraj Abdillahi.

The body of 35-year-old Elizabeth Nina was found in an abandoned, unfinished house in the Senti Kumi area of Likoni, days after two other bodies were discovered elsewhere in the subcounty.

“This is a disturbing pattern we can no longer ignore. Nina’s case follows closely behind other deeply troubling incidents within Likoni subcounty, where another woman was found dead at a dispensary in Corner ya Ijara, and another was brutally murdered, dismembered, and dumped in the Approved area,” Abdillahi said.