Residents of Kairuni in Tharaka Nithi County were left startled after a one week baby was found abandoned inside a classroom in Kairuni Primary School in Chogoria on Saturday,20 August 2022 night.
According to the school night guard, he heard the baby cry at around 9 pm as he was doing routine patrols in the school, and the cries led him to one of the classrooms where he found the baby. He immediately called the school chairman, who later called the village elder.
Responding to the incident, Village Elder Mutembei Kirauni rushed to the school and found the baby in the custody of the school guard before calling his wife, who agreed to take care of the infant for the night.
"The child was abandoned on one of the desks in the classes. No one wanted to take responsibility for the child and I decided to take the baby with me as the village elder and notified relevant authorities," he said.
Area Chief George Mutembei, while confirming the incident, asked the baby's mother to come out and take her child back, acknowledging that it was indeed not easy to take care of a one-week-old baby.
He gave the mother an assurance that procedures are in place for her to take back her baby.
"With the help of the child welfare society, the authorities will follow due procedures for the mother to have her child back. The child is safe and there's no reason for the mother to abandon her child", he said.
