24 street children, linked to a series of robberies and violence in Eldoret have been arrested on suspicion of violently robbing people of their mobile phones and snatching handbags in the town.
They were arrested at Muslim Cemetery, following a tip off by West Indies residents. The children are said to have been armed with crude weapons at the time of arrest.
Ayub Ali, Uasin Gishu County Police Commander said that the street children would be treated as suspected criminals. However, when they appeared in court before Eldoret Resident Magistrate Christine Menya, the children accused the police of mistreating them.
“We are being mistreated and accused falsely because we are street families. Police are using us to cover their laxity in fighting criminals in this town.”
Prosecutor Zachary Onkoba said that cases of street children involvement in criminal activities in Eldoret town have greatly increased. He therefore urged the court to pass a sentence on the street children that would serve as an example to the rest of them.
The court gave directions on the case to be heard on February 15.
In an unrelated incident, Mithamo Muchiri, the director for the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) and also a politician in Kirinyaga, Friday last week, offered to pay school fees for two street children who had asked for food from him.
Mithamo was parking outside a supermarket when one of the children came to him and asked for food. He asked the boy and his friend to accompany him for a cup of tea.
It was during their short interaction that Mithamo knew the two were orphans. He then talked to the area sub-chief, who took them to school the following Monday. Mithamo has since then being paying for their school fees.
