Police have assured that the man who assaulted a 13-year-old boy in Mukurweini, Nyeri County, will be found and dealt with.
Nyeri County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said this on Tuesday, noting that the suspect, Wachira Njambuya, went into hiding but that a hunt was underway.
CHILDREN’S HOME
Mr Njambuya is a resident of Gikondi area in Mukurweini.
Regarding his fate, the commissioner said: “The case has been taken up by the DCI (Directorate of Criminal Investigations). I can assure it is being dealt with.”
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been moved to Karatina Children’s Home amid investigations into allegations of mistreatment by his foster parents.
He was beaten up on Saturday night allegedly for seeking shelter in a neighbour’s house after running away from home. He suffered injuries to the head, face and legs and was treated at Mukurweini Hospital.
On Monday, Mukurweini Law Courts issued orders for the boy to be placed in protective custody following concerns that he was not safe at home.
The teenager claimed his foster parents have been assaulting him and denying him basic needs, forcing him to drop out of school and seek shelter in the woods and with neighbours.
Mukurweini Sub- county children’s welfare officer Peter Irungu said the boy’s alleged adoption will also be investigated.
“The allegations about his adoption cannot be confirmed but the father has been summoned to explain further,” Mr Irungu said.
The boy first came into the limelight on Sunday when a video of him bleeding from the head, as he narrated his ordeal in the Kikuyu dialect, went viral. The video was shared by neighbours who rescued the boy from his attacker.
The matter was reported at Mukurweini Police Station vide Occurrence Book (OB) number OB22/21/10/2018.