Two former Employees of Mama Lucy Hospital who were featured in a BBC expose on child trafficking have been found guilty of trafficking three infants in 2020.
In her judgement, Senior Principal Magistrate Esther Kimilu found them guilty and ruled that the prosecution had proved beyond all reasonable doubt that the two committed the offense.
Fred Leparan and Selina Adundo were charged in 2020 after the BBC expose showed how babies were being sold at Mama Lucy Hospital.
It was alleged that between March 1, 2020, and November 16, 2020, at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital in Embakasi Central within Nairobi, jointly with others not before the court they conspired to commit a felony namely trafficking person.
The court ruled that the two social workers were guilty saying they had a duty to take care of the children but instead abused them.
“The two knowing that they had a duty of care of these three children they exposed the children to abuse and therefore the two are guilty of the offence as charged,” Kimilu said.
Kimilu further said that the Leparan and Adundo while committing the crime acted in total disregard of the social workers ethics.
The court also considered the BBC expose which was part of evidence in court ruling than it was clear from the video that there was talk of children between Leparan, whistle blower and a lady named Rose who had posed as a buyer.
It was also the court’s finding that Fred had just decided to hand over the children to Rose (the fake buyer) which is against the ethics of a social worker.
In the case, the court was told of how Leparan took Sh 300,000 from a journalist as payment for sale of abandoned babies at the hospital.
Leparan had even asked Rose what gender of the baby she wanted in a bid to convince her that he would indeed bring her a child for sale.
Leparan’s lawyer Danstan Omari made an application seeking to have his client released on bail pending mitigation and sentencing.
He told court that the accused now convict had never absconded court since the case started as he was out on bail urging the court to maintain the same bail terms.
However, the prosecution opposed the application to have the two released on bail.
In a short ruling, Kimilu declined to issue bail saying since the two are now convicts she needs a pre-sentence report filed thus she cannot grant them bail.
The case will be mentioned on September 26 when the report will be produced and the defence will mitigate for the two.
Selina Adundo at the Milimani Law Courts
Fred Leparan being escorted to the cells after being found guilty
Fred Leparan at the Milimani Law courts
