A minor from Athi River sub county spent a night at the Athi River Police Station cells on Wednesday for protection.
The area children officer Faith Kamau said the 15 year old girl and a class seven pupil at St Paul’s Primary School was offered accommodation at the facility after she refused to leave the station.
Kamau said the girl had called on the station to report that her mother wanted to forcibly take her away from a well wisher’s home where she has been living comfortably for the last three years before refusing to leave the station’s premises.
She said the child’s mother handed her over to a well wisher three years ago through informal agreement after she separated with the father, and moved from her matrimonial home in Kinanie Village to start new life in Athi River town.
“She has been in persistent conflicts with her first husband over the child for some time now since she remarried, my attempts to reconcile them on child’s custody have hit a snag after they became futile,” said Kamau.
Kamau said the child’s father was demanding to have his child back after she learnt that the mother wanted to take her to the new husband’s home in Kitui though she lives in Athi River town herself.
She said she gave up on them after the new husband threatened to kill someone on the issue claiming he had already paid dowry for the woman and all her four children but only moved in with three.
“It was here in my office where the woman, her two husbands and the well wisher whom she had surrendered the child to help her take care of due to hardships she was going through then all became wild each threatening to attack each other over the child’s custody. When the tension was high, I referred them to their chief for solution,” she said.
She said the child ran to the police station Wednesday evening immediately she returned to the well wisher’s home from school.
She said the child reported to the station so that the mother and new husband be barred from taking her away from the caretaker.
The officer said the child claimed she was happily living with the well wisher who treated her just like her own biological mother hence feared her education would be compromised if moved away from her.
Kamau said the child maintained she would not leave the police custody before the matter was amicably settled in her favour.
The officer who spoke to this writer at her office in Athi River town Thursday said her office would move to court for the best interest of the child if warring parties failed to settle the matter.