Officers in Kitale town on Tuesday morning rescued the baby with no arms and legs who was found at a dumpsite.
Detectives in Trans Nzoia County are hunting for the parents who dumped their newborn baby who was born without limbs.
Officers in Kitale town on Tuesday morning rescued the baby with no arms and legs who was found at a dumpsite. Police have launched a manhunt for the parents.
The baby girl, believed to have been born a few days ago, was found by residents who were passing by the dumpsite in the morning. It is suspected that the baby was dumped on Monday night.
Preliminary investigations have established that the baby was born at a local hospital, and the parents had rejected her. The baby was wrapped in a piece of cloth and placed in a carrier bag.
Passers-by heard a faint sound of a baby crying, and on approaching the site, found the baby in a carrier bag. Her umbilical cord stump was still hanging on her belly button.
The area chief’s office was alerted and the baby was picked up.
Nation.Africa visited the chief’s office after the child had been rescued by officers led by the Kitale Municipality Senior Chief, Charles Namunyu.
Chief Namunyu, in an interview with Nation.Africa, said that the baby is suspected to have been dumped by her parents due to her disability.
A medic privy to the matter told Nation.Africa that the baby was born with a condition known as Tetra Amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterised by the absence of all four limbs.
Kitale-based human rights defender Bonface Wanyonyi called on the government to hasten investigations to ensure the parents are arrested.
“This is a sad incident and it just exposes the breakdown in our humanity and our social discipline. I want to condemn this act and wish the baby to recover and have a chance to live again,” noted Mr Wanyoike.
“We have found out that this baby was rejected by her parents and officers from the Children's Department had to talk to them before the mother accepted to breastfeed it,” Mr Namunyu revealed.
The administrator revealed that the baby's parents are still at large and have been identified as residents of Lessos area in Kitale.
“We have gathered some facts on this matter and we found out that the mother comes from Homa Bay County and the father is from Namanjala area. We are pursuing them as police officers proceed with investigations,” Mr Namunyu said.
The chief said that the matter was reported at Kitale police station on Tuesday after which police officers were sent to pick up the baby and take her to hospital for medical attention and safety.
“Police officers took the baby to Wamalwa Kijana Referral Hospital where we expect her to get help since she is just a few days old. As the government we condemn such acts by irresponsible parents who disown their children because they are born with a disability,” said the administrator.
Trans Nzoia County Criminal Investigations Officer Paul Songok noted that detectives have launched investigations into the matter as detectives pursue the suspected parents.
