Two minors who were kidnapped five years ago have been reunited with their families at the Shanzu Law Courts in Mombasa.
The two girls, now aged 14 and 10 were received on Tuesday by their emotional parents who had been waiting for the court to hand them over.
However, Senior Principal Magistrate Diana Mochache placed a third child barely two years old in the custody of Happy Children’s Home in Nairobi until his parents are identified.
“A DNA report is yet to be released but I will release the two girls to their parents. However, they shall not leave the court’s jurisdiction or be handed to any other person without court’s direction until the DNA report is released,” said magistrate Mochache.
In the case, two suspected kidnappers who were arraigned before the court were facing charges of kidnapping the three minors.
The duo, Ms Margaret Juma Magero and Mr David Ochieng Ometho are believed to be a couple.
The two, who hail from Mtwapa, Kilifi County, were charged with three counts of stealing and trafficking minors aged seven, five and one and a half years.
The prosecution told the court that the couple kidnapped the minors at their homes in Maweni and Bamburi, Kisauni Sub-County on March 18, 2009 and April 4, 2011.
The suspects, who first appeared in court in September 26, 2016 are said to be members of a syndicate of a church group which is involved in child trafficking locally and internationally.
The magistrate ordered for the two to be detained in police custody for two weeks following the prosecution’s application saying the accused are likely to abscond court and interfere with witnesses if released on bail.
The case will be mentioned on December 28.