Dem convict Kenyan baby stealer after BBC expose am

Di Kenyan hospital employee wey BBC catch as im bin dey sell a baby on di black market don dey convicted of child trafficking.

Fred Leparan, wey dey work for Nairobi Mama Lucy Kibaki hospital, was filmed wia im dey accept $2,050 (£1,600) to sell a baby boy under di hospital care.

Dem arrest am for 2020 afta one BBC Africa Eye investigation.

Leparan dey charged alongside anoda hospital employee, Selina Awour, wey dem sama wit child theft.

Awuor dey convicted wit three counts of child neglect but dem later free am of child trafficking.

Di two chop sentencing by 26 September.

One Africa Eye reporter bin initially approach Leparan wia im pose as a potential buyer, afta hearing from a source say di senior clinical social worker dey involved in illegal child trafficking from di goment-run hospital.

Dem arrange meeting for di hospital, wia Leparan ask di undercover reporter, wey tok say she and her husband don struggle to conceive, only cursory questions about dia situation bifor im agree to sell di baby boy.

On di day wey dem suppose transfer di baby boy from di hospital to a goment-run children home, along wit two oda children, dem film Leparan wia im dey falsify di transfer paperwork so dat di home go expect two children rather dan three.

Di BBC team ensure say all three children dey delivered directly to di children home, but dem film wia Leparan bin dey amend di paperwork and inform dem say di child don become dia own to take away.

Despite di evidence wey dey against him, dem drag di case for more dan two years. Leparan get chance to retain one of di best legal defences for Kenya, but im witness testimony on di stand dey inconsistent and evasive.

E dey forced to acknowledge say na im dey di undercover footage, im attempt to claim say di voice belong to someone else, even as im mouth move along wit di words. Later, im admit say some of di word na im own.

Leparan also claim say im no recognise various parts of di hospital wia im don work for three years, as dem show footage to di court of wia Leparan bin dey secretly arrange di theft and transfer of di baby boy.

Di BBC investigation capture di illegal sale of one child from Mama Lucy, but one former employee wey speak to Africa Eye on condition of anonymity say dat im dey aware of 12 children under di care of di hospital wey go missing in just two months.

"So many pipo dey corrupt. Once dey give dem something small dey go keep quiet and never tok," as im bin dey refer to bribe wey dem give to staff.

Demand for stolen children dey significant for Kenya, driven by a cultural stigma around infertility wey include adoption as well as legal adoption process wey no dey official.

Di hospital scam wey Leparan dey operate bin represent only one aspect of dis complex problem.

Africa Eye also film traffickers wia dem dey arrange di purchase and sale of babies for illegal street clinics, and di brazen theft and sale of babies from vulnerable, homeless mothers wey dey live on di city streets.

Mary Auma, wey dey run clinic wia vulnerable mothers give birth and sell dia babies to her, so she fit sell dem for profit, disappear after our undercover team bin film her. On a recent return to Nairobi, we no find any sign of Auma, and her clinic dey underlock.

But dem still dey steal babies for Nairobi. Close to di steps of di clinic wey dey shut, one woman approach as she dey hold flyer wey dey bear di picture of her five-year-old granddaughter, Chelsea Akinye.

Na from di street dem snatch Chelsea one year and six days bifor, her grandmother say, Rosemary. She say she bin dey search for Chelsea every day since wen her flyers dey posted around di neighbourhood and beyond.

She describe di five-year-old as happy girl wey be promising student.

"Wen she come from school, she go get anyone close to her to helep her wit homework bifor she go comot go play," Rosemary say.

"I don search for Chelsea all di way reach Busia. Since dat day, I leave very early for morning, sometimes at 4am, so I go fit search for her."

Like oda parents or grandparents wey don dey subjected to di terrible ordeal of having child wey dem snatch, Rosemary bin sometime long for closure in any form.

"I dey imagine say someone go don abandon her for somewia, abi dem don kill her and leave her for somewia. And I go bury her, and e go comot my heart," she say.

E get few reliable statistics on di extent of child trafficking for Kenya. According to di kontri Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore, 6,841 children dey miss between July 2022 reach May 2023. Na only 1,296 don dey reunited wit dia families.

Mueni Mutisya, from di Directorate of Criminal Investigations Child Trafficking Unit, tell di BBC say di unit dey currently get an average of five new child abduction cases a week. Di majority affect di lowest income families, Ms Mueni say.

Di day after dem publish our initial investigation for 2020, di bifor bifor Kenya minister for labour and social protection, Simon Chelugui pledge tough goment action to combat di trade wey dey make dem steal children, promising dat culprits go face "di full force of di law".

New laws bin come into effect last year wey strength child protections for Kenya, but according to Ms Mueni dem still need to do more. She call for new laws wey go make members of di public to report suspicion wey show say dem don abuse or abduct a child.

"Make we get common goal to protect our child," she say.

Di most vulnerable children na still doz wey dem raise from di poorest families, according to Maryana Munyendo, di head of charity Missing Child Kenya, wey dey operate a toll-free line for pipo to report abductions.

"Within Nairobi, we still dey get a lot of cases from di slum areas," Ms Munyendo say. She say her phone line still dey receive three missing child reports every day.

Additional reporting by Peter Murimi