Detectives from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Scotland Yard on Tuesday rescued 95 children after they raided madrassa in Likoni, Mombasa County.
Confirming the operation, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) official Grace Ndirangu stated that some of the children found were from the United Kingdom, the United States, Zambia, and Tanzania.
“We received two cases of children being abused two months ago and have been following activities at the institution where we discovered that children from foreign countries were also being sent here.
"We are reading some mischief here in between that is why we have engaged some foreign officials who have confirmed that the children are from the said foreign countries,” she stated.
About 20 children were reportedly foreigners while others were Kenyans, with a majority being of Somali origin.
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Ms Ndirangu explained that the children were taken to Coast Regional Headquarters for interrogation, disclosing that there were two cases where the minors were physically abused.
Parents were required to present the relevant documents to prove that the children belonged to them.
“We have already found some cases here from the sessions we had with the children. We are yet to finish questioning them. But we will not release the children to any of the parents until they produce documents to prove ownership,” she conveyed.
The raid was condemned by the Treasurer of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK), Sheikh Hassan Omar, who faulted the officers for disrupting learning in Madrassa.
He dismissed claims that the center was a front for a child abuse and trafficking ring.
[caption caption="File image of children in madrassa"]
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