Mombasa couple arrested for enlisting own children in sex ring » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 14 — Detectives drawn from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit (AHTCPU) have arrested two suspects in Mombasa’s Changamwe area linked to exploitation and solicitation of minors.

Regina Munyoki, aged 41, was reportedly using a dating site “AfroIntroductions” operated by Cupid Media to market her three children aged thirteen, seven and four years respectively for sexual exploitation.

Detectives further established that her husband had been defiling their 13-year old daughter since she was eleven.

DCI arrested Munyoki and 52-year-old Isaiah Owala following intelligence leads.

The police presented the duo at the Mombasa Law Courts where Munyoki secured her release on a Sh1mn bond backed by two sureties of a similar amount.

The court however deferred its ruling on Owala’s application for bond instead handing him over to Shanzu Prisons for custody pending a decision on Tuesday, July 15.

The case shines a spotlight on increasing risks on child exploitation on online platforms with the National Council for Children’s Services findings showing children were less likely to report online abuse.

Kenya is part of a global alliance dubbed WePROTECT which seeks to end online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Constitution under Article 53 recognizes children’s right to be protected from abuse, neglect, and harmful cultural practices, including sexual exploitation.

Kenyan laws provide further protections under Sexual Offences Act which defines and criminalises various sexual offenses, including defilement (sexual assault of a minor) which attracts a penalty of life imprisonment.