Detectives drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) on Thursday, December 29, apprehended two suspects who allegedly fed alcohol to a 3-year-old during a Christmas party.
In a report filed by DCI’s Child Protection Unit, the duo gatecrashed a Christmas party at a Nairobi estate where they tricked the minor into taking alcohol while his mother was asleep.
According to the DCI's statement, detectives were prompted to take action after former Nairobi Governor Mike Mbuvi Sonko shared the clip on his social media page, attracting uproar from Kenyans online.
"Following a distasteful video clip that has been doing rounds in sections of the media showing an adult giving whiskey to a 3-year-old baby, detectives from DCI’s Child Protection Unit have arrested the suspect and his accomplice," DCI's statement read in part.
"This is after the awful videotape shared by former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, shocked netizens including detectives monitoring online activities, who escalated the information to undercover sleuths specialised in hunting down child offenders," DCI added.
The duo was arrested after DCI traced their phones and picked them up in Thindigua and Pangani estates, respectively.
Following their arrest, the mother's kid told detectives that the two had gatecrashed the party to which their mutual friend had been invited and went on to outstay their welcome.
The duo was arraigned in Kiambu law courts where the first respondent pleaded guilty while the second suspect denied all the allegations.
They were accused of failing to protect a child from drugs and substance abuse contrary to section 24 (1) (a) as read with section 24 (2) of the Children Act No. 29 of 2022.
"No person shall subject a child to the use of hallucinogens, narcotics, alcohol, tobacco products, glue, psychotropic drugs or any other drugs that may be declared harmful by the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to health," the Act stipulates.
The clip attracted backlash, with most Kenyans calling for the parents' arrest.
"Heartbreaking. irresponsible parenting," one social media user commented on the video shared by Sonko.
"This kind of parenting in the name of exposure is highly prohibited. Lest we nurture a generation less of morals and ill-rotten values," another social media added.
Alcohol consumption is prohibited for any Kenyan under 18 years old.
