It was an emotional reunion for a family in Maralal, Samburu County after their son who had gone missing following a shop errand returned to them in good health.
The child had been sent by the parent to a shop during a visit to Nairobi and disappeared only to resurface three years later.
He was taken into custody by officers who upon questioning the minor, took him to Kakamega where he claimed to come from.
In Kakamega, the boy was taken to a children's home while the officers launched a search for his family.
On the other end, the family continued to seek the boy without much luck in locating him.
Three years after he went missing, the officers managed to trace the family facilitating the reunion of the estranged kin.
The mother of the child expressed her joy to having been reunited with her son, "I am grateful to those who have brought him back to me."
The officer who saw the reunion noted that family challenges were a contributing factor to the rising numbers of street children in the country.
"Parents and relatives should take responsibility for their children. Just because you have economic challenges does not mean you have the right to let your children roam in the streets," she advised.
She added that parents ought to take the responsibility for their children at all times.
The census was conducted in 2018 by the State Department for Social Protection showed that the majority of the street persons were age 10 to 34 years.
The highest concentration of street persons was found in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Uasin Gishu Counties in this order.
