Mother ‘would sell baby all over again’

Mother ‘would sell baby all over again’

A teenager arrested for selling her five-week-old son says she would do it again.

Ms Risper Kimuma, 19, told the Nation that she had no regrets for attempting to sell her child.

“Once you sell your cow, you can’t ask for it back. I sold my baby with all the documents I got at the hospital. The buyer now only needs to go and process the birth certificate and give the baby whatever name they want,” she said when asked if she was missing the baby.

The case has exposed the depth of child trafficking in Nakuru, with the woman saying the illegal trade was rife.

She claimed the trade was controlled by medical officers at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital who prey on desperate young women to sell their babies for as little as Sh10,000 soon after delivery.

“It’s true babies are being sold at the hospital and a friend who works there acts as a middleman for potential buyers,” she said.

She was arrested on October 13 at Kapembwa estate while selling her son for Sh12,000.

She turned down offer

She claims an aunt asked her to sell the baby at the Sewerage estate in Nakuru for Sh5,000 but she turned down the offer because it was too low.

“I had a husband who later abandoned me with my three-year-old daughter and since I am jobless, I found the going hard,” she said.

She said a relative had also sold her two-week old baby for Sh18,000 to get married.

The hospital’s director, Dr John Murima, said he was not aware of child trafficking at the hospital.

He said whenever babies are abandoned, the hospital adhered strictly to adoption regulations.

She appeared before Nakuru resident magistrate on Monday and admitted selling her son for Sh 12,000. She will be sentenced on Thursday.