A woman in her late twenties was arrested in Nakuru County after she attempted to sell her new-born baby for Sh80,000.
She allegedly wanted to use the money to set up a vegetable business but her plans were thwarted by an undercover policeman who posed as a buyer.
It is said that she had already started plans of selling her baby before she gave birth and had plotted to inform her husband that she had lost the baby.
The woman is said to have struck a deal with a Mr David Mwagi, who tipped off the police.
Mwangi, who runs a children’s home in Nakuru, said the woman approached him long before she delivered, offering to sell the baby for Sh80,000.
She had even threatened to strike a deal with another interested party at the hospital if her valuation was not matched.
Upon giving birth, she instructed Mwagi to go to the hospital where the deal would be finalised.
Mwagi, accompanied by his ‘wife’, went to meet the lady at a nearby hotel and they were to pay a down-payment of Sh46,000, with the rest of the balance to be settled via M-Pesa.
The agreement allegedly stated that the seller would not claim ownership of the baby once the transaction was complete.
After chatting briefly, the woman swiftly signed the agreement, received the cash and handed over the baby to Mwagi’s ‘wife’.
Much to her surprise, Mwagi’s ‘wife’ was an undercover policeman and she swiftly sprung into action and arrested the woman.
When questioned about her actions, she seemed unremorseful by saying she needed the money to set up a stall to sell vegetables, and that her husband of one year was abusive and did not provide for her and their two-year-old daughter.
“I wanted the money to start up a vegetable stall so that I can be able to fend for myself,” she stated.
The baby is currently under the care of a children’s home and the woman is set to be arraigned court to face charges for selling her baby.
