Police in Nairobi are holding a woman who was arrested while allegedly trying to steal a baby at the Pumwani Maternity Hospital.
Irene Syombua was nabbed at 9 pm on Saturday night allegedly in the process of committing the crime, with police suspecting that she wanted to swipe the baby for a dead one.
According to detectives, a search in the suspect's vehicle revealed a dead baby wrapped in a sack in the trunk.
Police suspect that the woman is part of the child theft syndicate that has been ongoing at the facility, and is set to be arraigned in court on Monday.
Such is not new at the facility after another similar incident was reported in June, where one Sheila Adhiambo was nabbed while allegedly committing a similar crime.
Hospital Medical Superintendent Leonard Okoko said that Sheila had taken the baby's mother, Phoebe Achieng to the hospital for delivery and registered her under her own name.
He said that when Achieng's husband came to see her, the name he asked for could not be found, which alerted the medics who called in the police and arrested the woman.
“The name he asked for [Phoebe Achieng] was not corresponding to any of the names we had in our register. This is a surprise and it looked like a well-orchestrated deal. Even a genius might not catch on," he said.
Last month, another woman was nabbed while trying to steal a baby by hiding it in her backpack, while the baby's mother was processing her discharge from the facility.