Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have detained a woman accused of abducting her friend’s two-day-old baby in Nairobi before fleeing across counties to avoid arrest. The suspect, Catherine Kerubo, is now in custody at Buruburu Police Station as officers race to find the missing infant.
According to police, the baby belongs to Emily Mosweta, who had just been discharged from Mimosa Hospital in Kasarani after giving birth. On May 26, Kerubo, accompanied by another woman, visited Mosweta at the hospital, posing as a supportive friend.
Kerubo then offered to help Mosweta get home to Umoja. Together with the other woman, the three boarded a matatu from Kasarani to the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD). But once they reached the Tea Room stage downtown, Kerubo disappeared with the baby, leaving Mosweta shocked and stranded.
Panicked and heartbroken, Mosweta tried calling Kerubo, only to find that her phone had been turned off. Attempts to reach the other woman were also unsuccessful. Realizing something was terribly wrong, Mosweta reported the incident at Umoja Police Post and then filed a more detailed report at Buruburu Police Station.
DCI officers immediately launched an investigation into the child’s disappearance. In an affidavit submitted to Makadara Law Courts, Corporal Erastus Kioko of the Buruburu DCI office described how the suspect had initially gone off-grid, switching off her phone and vanishing from Nairobi.
“Investigations established that the respondent switched off her mobile phone and could not be traced within Nairobi. Information was later received that she had travelled to her rural home in Nyamira County. However, on June 6, 2025, through an intelligence report, she was traced and arrested in Nyali, Mombasa,” the affidavit stated.
After the arrest, officers escorted Kerubo back to Buruburu Police Station.
In court, Corporal Kioko requested 14 more days to hold the suspect. He explained that the DCI needs additional time to trace the missing baby and gather crucial evidence.
Detectives are also working to locate and question the second woman who visited Mosweta at the hospital with Kerubo. Investigators plan to review hospital records, examine CCTV footage, and conduct a search at Kerubo’s rural home in Nyamira, hoping to uncover leads that could bring the baby back safely.
Senior Principal Magistrate Joseph Karanja approved the request for continued detention, granting the DCI more time to unravel the chilling case and reunite the mother with her child.
