A single mother on Tuesday denied abandoning her two-year old daughter when she was arraigned before a Thika law court.
Appearing before children’s court magistrate Clare Bartoo, Purity Ngima, 36, from Igamba in Gatundu North Sub County had been accused of neglecting the child at Gituamba area of Gatundu on January 7 this year.
Ngima explained to the court that she had agreed with her former husband, Anthony Gathara that he would take care of their child as she tried to settle down as a single parent.
She further told the court that her mother-in-law had rejected her since she was uneducated and unemployed.
Ngima added that she used to visit her child after every two weeks, and that it was during one of the visits that her in law, Mary Gathoni, told her that she had given away the child to a children’s home.
Ngima added that it was then that Gathoni called police officers who arrested her for neglecting her child on May 3, this year.
Prosecutor Stella Oyagi requested the court for more time to investigate the matter, so as to be fair to both the child and the mother.
Ngima was later released on Sh50,000 bond.
The children’s resident Magistrate, Clare Bartoo adjourned the case to August 5, this year.