A nurse has been arrested in Nairobi in another case of pseudo pregnancy at Pumwani Maternity Hospital.
Sheila Adhiambo Aluoch is said to be barren and reportedly colluded with Phoebe Achieng to have her new born baby.
Achieng’ is also under police custody for possible charges of conspiracy to sell her own new born baby.
Police said Adhiambo is a nurse by profession.
Police said she lives in Fedha Estate in Embakasi while Achieng lives in Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums and survives on menial jobs.
According to the police, the two are friends but Adhiambo told doctors at the hospital they are sisters.
Preliminary investigations showed that in an attempt to confuse doctors at Pumwani, Adhiambo, who somehow noticed vulnerability in Achieng who was not comfortable with the baby, convinced her to have the baby and then ‘she will take care of the rest’.
Achieng had reportedly confided in her that she wanted to abort the pregnancy because she did not want the baby.
Police said Adhiambo then convinced her to keep the baby and she would help raise the baby until she is three months old when she would be offered to a children’s home.
It was a great deal for Achieng, or so she thought.
Adhiambo had reportedly been lying to her boyfriend that she was pregnant.
She then took Achieng to Pumwani hospital when she was due, registered her under her own name and left.
Achieng delivered a 2kg baby through caesarean section.
However, nurses at the hospital said they suspected something was amiss when Achieng did not respond to the name Sheila Adhiambo Aluoch when called several times.
Nurses said she had either forgotten she was supposed to be Sheila or she did not know she was registered under the name.
Pumwani Maternity Hospital medical superintendent Leonard Okoko said they noticed this when Achieng’s husband came to ask for his wife who was admitted at ward four, bed eight.
“The name he asked for was not corresponding to any of the names we had in our register. This is a surprise and it looked a well-orchestrated deal. Even if one was genius you couldn’t know the plan,” he said.
Okoko said they alerted the police who moved with speed and arrested the suspect.
Adhiambo is being held at Shauri Moyo Police Station under OB number 02/17/7/2019.
Area DCIO Kiamba Rukunga said that they have launched investigations and once complete the suspect will be arraigned in court.
“It’s still early to pre-empt possible charges. Let’s wait until we complete our probe,” Rukunga said.
The hospital administrator Geoffrey Mosiria said they are working closely with the police to avert any such thefts.