A child-trafficking syndicate has been unearthed by investigative journalists in pumwani hospital.
Children are being sold like bananas in Kenya’s biggest maternity facility.
A group of brokers tout infants and haggle over prices as if the children are merchandise.
During the investigation , 27-year-old woman was detained by police in Nairobi for attempting to sell a newborn to undercover journalists.
The woman, Ms Caroline Kathure Gitonga, spent the night at Shauri Moyo Police Station after a joint investigation by a local media company exposed her attempt to sell the baby, whom she claimed was hers, shortly after being discharged from the hospital.
The investigation exposes a well-oiled and daring baby theft and smuggling syndicate operating within the corridors of the hospital.
It was not clear whether the hospital staff are part of the syndicate, but the brokers claim to act on behalf of mothers and they operate freely within the hospital.
In a dramatic probe that started from Kimathi Street in the city and ended at Pumwani Hospital, the journalists who posed as buyers sealed the purchase for the eight-day-old baby for a meagre Sh50,000.
The day of drama started with a mid-morning call to the undercover journalists indicating that a broker had identified a woman who was willing to sell her baby boy.
Journalists rushed to the hospital, but Ms Gitonga said she was uncomfortable discussing the “deal” within the hospital, and so she had asked to be discharged.
She had travelled from Meru to Nairobi to deliver the baby, who weighed 2.8 kilogrammes at birth.
Our team waited for her to be discharged while at the same time alerting police officers and child welfare staff of the impending transaction.
Outside the hospital, Ms Gitonga explained to the journalists that she wanted to sell her baby because she had financial problems. She has two other children, she explained.
“Niko na shida, na sina wazazi (I have a lot of problems, and I am an orphan,” she said.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko had prevously offered a Ksh50,000 reward to security guards manning Pumwani Maternity Hospital.
In a bid to combat suspected child trafficking syndicate at the facility, the county boss promised that any security guard who foils such an attempt will receive the reward.
“A reward of 50k to any doctor or any officer atakae shika mtoto akiibiwa (who will nab child traffickers),” he stated.
The syndicate is however well planed and orchestrated to ensure nobody suspects faul play .