We should all be concerned by rising cases of missing children

Cases of children missing have lately been on the rise. This comes amid the Covid-19 pandemic and despite the fact that homes are supposed to be the safest place for children. 

Who should take the blame for the disappearance of children and teenagers?

Scrolling through the Missing Children Kenya Twitter handle, I was astonished by number of children aged between four and 16 who are missing. 

According to MCK reports, 190 children are still missing, 496 have been found and reunited with their families and 73 have been taken to homes. 

Parents are fully responsible for the safety of their children. However, they need to go to work to provide for their families. But how will they work if they are in constant worry of their children’s safety back at home? 

What is the motive of people who kidnap children? Some of them are sexual predators and human traffickers, while others traffic children for illegal labour.

Cases of kidnapping

The recent kidnapping in broad daylight of eight-year-old Shantel Nzembi in Kitengela is a case in point. She was murdered because her mother was unable to raise the Sh300,000 ransom demanded by the kidnappers. The tragic case is yet to be resolved.

The main goal of Missing Children Kenya is to boost search efforts for missing children by sharing photos, posters and alerts to a broad audience as quickly as possible. 

This helps speed up the process of finding the child. The organisation also counsels families and advises them on how to work with their community, law enforcement agencies and the media. The Children’s Act directs any person with reasonable belief that a child may need care and protection to report the child to the nearest police officer.

Reports of missing children should be made to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, which operates investigation units dedicated to cases of kidnapping and human trafficking.

Parents and guardians should also teach their children how to handle strangers.

Zahrah Mohammed is a Communication and Media Technology student at Maseno University.

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