Piece by: KNA by Rahab Naimutie

16 July 2021

• The Grade One girl was found about one kilometre from her home in Kagaa village, Kanjuiri Ward in Ol-kalou Constituency after failing to return home from school the previous day.

• The nine-year-old girl’s parents were too shocked to speak to the media.

A child is fighting for her life at the J.M Memorial Hospital in Ol-kalou, Nyandarua County, after being attacked and abandoned in a thicket near River Murindati.

The Grade One girl was found about one kilometre from her home in Kagaa village, Kanjuiri Ward in Ol-kalou Constituency after failing to return home from school the previous day.

The villagers had mounted a search after she did not return home to try tracing her whereabouts to no avail.

Area Assistant Chief, Ruth Nyambura, said that the community had formed four search groups, which dispersed in different directions, to try and cover the area as widely as possible.

“The search went on until midnight when it was called-off due to darkness. It resumed this morning and the girl was found in a thicket along River Murindati. She was found with her eyes swollen and appears to have been pricked with a sharp object,” the Administrator said.

The Chief also warned anybody involved in attacking the child will face the full force of the law and that such acts will not be tolerated in the location. The matter was reported at the Tumaini Police Station

Community Health Volunteer, Anthony Muhanda, said that the community is in shock and warned that there could be a cult in the country targeting children. He warned parents to practice caution when allowing children to go to school and now at their holidays at home.

“Parents should teach their children to walk in groups when leaving home and coming back from school and especially be more vigilant as schools have closed,” he added.

Jane Njeri, a resident, said that the attack has instilled a lot of fear in the vicinity and called on parents to stop sending children unaccompanied out of home even for short distances.

“Those defiling children should be castrated so as to be a lesson to others with such intent,” she added.

The nine-year-old girl’s parents were too shocked to speak to the media.