Mother to usher 2016 behind bars over baby selling claim

The year is not ending well for a mother of a newborn baby after a court ordered that she be remanded until next week.

Annah Ng’endo, mother of a ten-day old baby, was yesterday charged with fraud at a Nakuru court after allegedly tricking her friend that she was in a position to sell the baby.

Ng’endo is accused of tricking Philomena Kawira, by offering to sell her unborn baby at Sh60,000, when she was about seven months pregnant.

Ng’endo appeared before Senior Principal Magistrate Nyakundi Maroro yesterday for charges of obtaining money from Kawira by false pretence.

The court was told that Ng’endo falsely obtained Sh28,000 down payment from Kawira on October 30, at Mawanga claiming that she would sell her the baby upon delivering. But her plea was deferred until Monday after her lawyer, Lawrence Mwangi, applied for the deferment, which Senior Principal Magistrate allowed.

According to a report that was handed over to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Nakuru, Kawira, now the complainant, said Ng’endo had threatened to abort the baby on claims that she had no means to raise it after birth.

The complainant then made a written agreement with Ng’endo, who was then pregnant, and her husband, with a promise to give up the baby after birth, instead of aborting.

Ng’endo then obtained the money but later disappeared after giving birth.

Kawira told police that she thought Ng’endo had disappeared to execute her abortion threats after obtaining the money.

The suspect, who was carrying the newborn baby in court, was arrested in Shabab Estate in Nakuru on Tuesday. Her Lawyer however objected to her prosecution until Monday, saying there are multiple issues relating to gross violation of human rights to be raised with the DPP.

Maroro ordered that Ng’endo be remanded at Nakuru Police Station.

Elsewhere, High Court judge Janet Mulwa has ordered for mental assessment of a 24-year-old man from Subukia in Nakuru, who allegedly killed his grandparents in cold blood two weeks ago.

The accused, Moses Kamau Githuku, is facing twin murder charges of 86-year-old Anne Njeri and Peter Kabogo, 90, who lived in Gatongu village. Bodies of the two were found inside their house.

Kamau, who had fled the scene after allegedly committing the offence the previous night, was arrested last week in Kabazia centre after emerging from his hideout to buy meat in a butchery.

He is remanded at Kirengera Police Station and will take plea on January 21, after the mental assessment report to be conducted at Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital is presented before the court.