Nairobi Governor Sonko Pledges Sh50,000 Cash Reward for Each Child Theft Tip at Pumwani Maternity Hospital

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has pledged a Sh50,000 cash reward to security guards at Pumwani Maternity Hospital for each child theft arrest or report.

Speaking when he made a third impromptu visit to the largest maternity facility in East and Central Africa, Sonko urged the guards to be extra vigilant and arrest those who steal babies at the facility.

“Be vigilant and if anyone of you gets a child being stolen and reports then you will get a Sh50,000 reward,” said Sonko during a third impromptu visit to Pumwani on Sunday.

Sonko directed the security officers to demand an identification card from anyone exiting the busy maternity hospital with an infant and a badge confirming they are the infant’s mother.

Sonko said the move aims at curbing cases of child theft that have rocked the hospital for years now.

Early last month, a guard at the facility busted a woman carrying a stolen child in a bag at the hospital’s main entrance. He quickly intercepted the suspect identified as Mary Atieno after he heard a child cry from the bag.

At first, the suspect claimed it was her phone ringing in the laptop bag, but upon ransacking, the officer established a baby had been hidden in the backpack.

“The baby was crying and when I asked her she said that it was her phone that was ringing. I searched the bag and found that it was a baby,” said the guard.

The guard by the name Joseph Bitok received a cool Sh50,000 from Governor Sonko on Sunday.