A Form Two student in Kitengela has been reunited with her family after being lost for four days.The 16-year-old girl was rescued after a sting operation in the community carried out by Kitengela police officers.According to the authorities, the youngster was being held by a man who claimed to be a boda boda rider in the neighborhood.The suspect is approximately 40 years old, according to authorities.
“The girl was found locked up inside the rider’s house. It has been a difficult moment for the family since Wednesday when she failed to return home,” a family member told Wananchi Reporting, but declined to be named so as to project the identity of the minor.
Police said the guy would lock the girl inside the residence, leave for work, and return later in the evening.
The youngster was reported missing on Wednesday last week after leaving to see a cobbler to repair her shoes in preparation for the return of school on Monday.
Police claimed the child had boarded the suspect’s motorcycle the day before, on Tuesday, to go to a cobbler to have her school shoes repaired.
“The rider took her to a cobbler who happened to have a lot of work, and so asked her to come pick her shoes the next day on Wednesday,” said a family member.
However, the rider is said to have gone ahead and picked the shoes from the cobbler himself – and reportedly took them to his house without the girl’s knowledge.
“The man came to our home the following day on Wednesday and told me that my shoes were ready for picking. He asked if I would pay him so he could take me to the cobbler. I agreed, and quickly grabbed my mobile phone and some money and left,” the minor told the police.
Adding that: “It was while on the way that he told me that he had already picked my shoes – and that they were at his house. On arrival at the gate of his house, he dragged me into the house and switched off my mobile phone.”
Police said the guy would bring food and drinks home and allegedly force the girl to drink after feeding him.
The girl was found and saved after she was able to get her cell phone, which the suspect had previously seized while he was in the bathroom, and swiftly took pictures of the surroundings and texted them to her mother’s phone.
The photographs were eventually used by the police to coordinate a successful rescue effort in the region.
The girl was sent to the hospital for examination and treatment.
The suspect is scheduled to appear in court in Kajiado on Monday.
