By REUBEN OLITA
June 30, 2026| A two-month-old baby became the centre of an emotional court session at the Malaba Law Courts after the infant was presented before a magistrate as an 18-year-old mother faced allegations of abandoning the child.
The baby, cradled by the child’s grandmother (pictured ), Gentrix Wabwire, remained in court throughout the proceedings as the young mother, Anne Mueni, stood in the dock before Senior Principal Magistrate Ocharo Momanyi.
Mueni is accused of abandoning her biological child on June 14, 2026, without proper care or assistance, an act prosecutors say exposed the infant to danger.
When the charges were read, the teenager admitted to abandoning the baby.
The court heard that the child has since been under the care of Wabwire, who confirmed that she has been looking after her grandchild since the alleged incident.
Wabwire also told the court that Mueni was arrested in Amukura, where her husband comes from, while her son was separately arrested in Nairobi in connection with the matter.
As the hearing unfolded, Magistrate Momanyi sought to establish the teenager’s identity documents. Mueni told the court she did not possess a national identity card but had a birth certificate, which she had left behind in Nairobi.
The magistrate also questioned Wabwire about her son’s occupation.
She admitted that he was unemployed.
“They met in Nairobi and got married, and their union resulted in the birth of this child. She later returned home with the baby,” Wabwire told the court.
In an emotional appeal, Mueni pleaded with the court to assist her so she could take care of her baby.
Despite the allegations against their daughter-in-law, Wabwire and her husband assured the court that they were willing to raise and care for their grandchild.
Magistrate Momanyi ordered that Mueni be remanded in custody until July 13, 2026, when the case will be mentioned after the court receives a report from the Children’s Department.