Police and medical experts in Kilifi county exhumed the body of an infant as part of investigations into allegations that a baby was switched at birth.
The exercise was conducted on Friday, August 7, 2026, at a homestead in Mariakani, following a court order issued by Mariakani Law Courts on August 5.
The parents had raised concerns after allegedly receiving the body of a female infant, despite claiming that they had been given a male child at birth.
The exhumation was led by Kilifi county Referral Hospital pathologist Dr Ruth Nyangi, alongside the Mariakani Subcounty Medical Superintendent, a Kaloleni Subcounty public health official, investigators and security officers.
The body, identified as BFJ, was successfully exhumed and taken to Kilifi County Referral Hospital mortuary for further examination.
Doctors subsequently identified the remains and established that the infant was male, contradicting the earlier description of the body as female.
DNA samples were extracted from the remains and will be subjected to testing at the Government Chemist to establish biological parentage.
The body remains at the mortuary pending an autopsy, while investigations into the alleged baby switch continue.
In a different incident, an eight-month-old baby drowned in a bucket at a home in Mutuini, Dagoretti, Nairobi.
According to the Nairobi police commander Issa Mohamud, the incident occurred on Thursday evening after the child’s mother left her daughter on a chair while she went outside to clean.
When she returned, she reportedly found the baby drowning inside a bucket.
The mother rushed the infant to Saint Oshwa Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police officers from Mutuini Police Station visited the health facility and confirmed the death.
The baby’s body was moved to Mbagathi Funeral Home, where it was preserved pending an autopsy.
Meanwhile, a 59-year-old woman died after allegedly being assaulted by her son in Nyamira county.
Agnes Moraa Kennedy was reportedly hit on the head by her son at around 8:30 pm on August 4, 2026.
The incident was reported at Bosamaro Police Station, after which Moraa was rushed to Jiron Hospital in Kisii for treatment.
She succumbed to her injuries at the facility at around 2 pm on August 7, police said.
Her body was preserved at the hospital mortuary awaiting a postmortem examination.
The suspect, who was arrested by the public at around 12:40 am on August 5, is being held at Nyamira Police Station pending arraignment in court.
Police also recovered a wooden rod allegedly used
in the assault, which has been preserved as an exhibit as investigations
continue.
