A Nairobi court has found two social workers employed at Mama Lucy Hospital guilty of child trafficking and neglect of their professional duties for selling a baby to a BBC undercover reporter who was investigating them.
Fred Leparan, one of the social workers, was ensnared in a meticulously planned scheme to sell a child who he claimed had been abandoned at Mama Lucy Hospital.
Leparan has been sentenced to 35 years in prison as a consequence of his actions. However, he will serve 25 years behind bars and undergo 10 years of probation.
His accomplice, Selina Adundo, has been given a less severe punishment. She received a non-custodial sentence of 2 years or the option to pay a fine of Ksh.100,000.
The court observed that both individuals, in their roles as social workers, held a duty of care for the three children involved in the case.
Their failure to fulfill this duty and their involvement in child trafficking constituted clear violations of the law. The court also emphasized that their actions were in stark contrast to the ethical standards expected of social workers.
The magistrate presiding over the case took note of a BBC documentary that provided additional evidence. In the video footage, conversations between Fred, the whistleblower, and Rose, who posed as a child buyer, were evident.
The court questioned why, if Rose was interested in obtaining one child, Fred did not release the other two children as part of the discharge process. This further illustrated Fred’s disregard for established protocols and ethical standards for social workers.
The prosecution presented evidence that between March 1, 2020, and November 16, 2020, at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital in Embakasi Central, Nairobi, Fred and others, who were not currently facing charges, conspired to commit the felony of child trafficking.
During the trial, a witness testified that Fred Leparan had accepted Ksh.300,000 from a journalist during an illegal transaction involving the sale of abandoned infants at the hospital. When questioned about the child’s health, Leparan, in conversation with the BBC reporter posing as a buyer, confirmed his intent to unlawfully acquire and sell the child, further incriminating himself.
This verdict serves as a significant step towards holding those in positions of trust accountable for their actions, especially when it comes to protecting vulnerable children.
