Joy, celebrations as three-year-old girl who was kidnapped a week ago returns home

By , K24 Digital
On Thu, 17 Jun, 2021 09:56 | 2 mins read
Celebrations as three-year-old missing girl returns home. PHOTO: DCI
Celebrations as three-year-old missing girl returns home. PHOTO: Snip from DCI Video.

Celebrations were in top gear at an estate in Pipeline area, Nairobi, after a three-year-old girl who was kidnapped a week ago was returned to her parents on Wednesday.

Baby Michelle Kemunto went missing while playing with her friend identified as Ashley outside their house as their parents went about their house chores.

Video footage shared by DCI shows elated residents singing, dancing as others are on their knees thanking the almighty God for the safe return of Baby Michelle.

According to DCI, Baby Michelle, who disappeared on June 8, was returned to her parents by detectives based in Embakasi Police Station.

This is after Baby Michelle was presented to the station by a good Samaritan who took care of her for three days.

Ruth Atieno, the woman who took custody of Michelle, told detectives that an unknown woman carrying two babies handed baby Michelle to her after informing her that she was destined to pick something at Mradi area in Tassia and couldn’t manage to do so with the two babies.

Ruth says she was requested to take care of Baby Michelle as her supposed mother went to pick the said items.

The kidnapper is said to have asked for Ruth’s number so that she can link her to cleaning jobs after she learned that Ruth earns a living through cleaning peoples houses and doing laundry work.

According to Ruth, the woman went never to come back again.

After three days of hosting baby Michelle, she received a phone call from the woman who informed her that she got an accident and she is admitted to Mbagathi Hospital in critical condition.

According to Ruth, she requested her to send someone else to come for the baby but she refused and insisted that she has to come for the child herself.

Ruth became suspicious of the whole ordeal and was forced to march to the police station together with her neighbours to report the matter.

Embakasi Police Station detectives acted on the matter and successfully traced the girl’s family leading to the handing over of Baby Michelle back to her family.

Police say they are now hunting down the suspected kidnapper.

The incident comes in the wake of increasing cases of kidnapping of kids in the country that has seen few recovered alive and others found dead.

In Kariobangi, a middle-aged woman is alleged to have disappeared with a 3-year-old girl in Kariobangi.

Joy Waithera was reported missing at Kariobangi Police Station on Thursday last week.

According to the father David Maina, a woman is said to have lured the girl away from the flat where they reside down to a shop to buy her something sweet.

The mother Mary Wanjiku says she was informed by the kids who were playing with Joy that the woman came out of the washroom and went down the stairs with Joy who was playing with them after promising to buy her candies.

The family is still appealing to anyone with information regarding Joy to reach out to them since her missing is causing them pain.