It started with a video released on Thursday of a woman calling for help to find her missing 16-year-old cousin, which was then widely shared on social media.
Seven teenage girls had disappeared without a trace, she said in the video, while pleading with anyone who could help find her cousin, Shanice Muoka, to do so.
There was an outpouring of rage and concern, which by last evening had led to the arrest of six of the girls, some of whom had been missing for 11 days, by Directorate of Criminal Investigations detectives and held at the Child Protection Centre in Nairobi’s South B.
The complex story of the seven “missing” minors led us to Komarock, the home for a number of them and an alleged base for what seems like a child trafficking syndicate involving shadowy adults and a peer group on Instagram dubbed Cartygang.
We found Pauline and other distraught parents wracking their heads on what to do with the situation.
One couple could barely hide their worries about the whereabouts of their second-born daughter, Tabby.
Mixed reactions
Much later, the nearly breathless mother of Shanice, who lives in Kamulu, over 10 kilometres away, arrived.
Suddenly, in the middle of the interview, Braso, an agemate and friend of the missing girls, who had all along denied any knowledge of their whereabouts, showed up at the gate. She announced that she had brought in Natalie, but Tabby had refused to come home, saying she was not done with her “business”.
She said that Shanice, the girl whose cousin was in tears begging for her return, was “elsewhere,” without giving the address.
Then the girls walked in moments later, accompanied by three friends. They exchanged quick greetings amid the tension and relief and headed straight for Natalie’s bedroom.
Young, brilliant, beautiful, vivacious and adventurers is how one would describe the youngsters.
Tabby and Natalie are next-door neighbours and were on Monday cleaning and washing utensils and clothes together.
According to their parents, the duo has been obedient girls and top performers in their respective schools. Until their shocking disappearance on Monday for Tabby, and Tuesday for Natalie.
“My wife, as is the norm before serving dinner, went to fetch my daughters from their room, only to find a heap of clothes arranged between the sheets to form a disguise as if Tabby was asleep. We searched with her elder sister but the girl was nowhere to be found,” said the father.
Looked confused
Next door, Natalie went home at 6.30pm and said Tabby had gone to visit her aunt in Kariobangi South.
That evening, Natalie texted her mother saying she would sleep over at Tabby’s home, ending it with a love emoji.
It was around the same time she learnt Tabby was missing and so the search started for both teenagers.
The two cases were reported at Kayole Police Station, a move that did not yield much for the 11 days the parents were in agony and tears.
We managed to engage the girls in a candid interview in their room, although they wanted it off camera.
Natalie disclosed that they were being hosted by a friend named Maria, at an undisclosed location, where they were fed, dressed and had fun.
She was unwilling to give details but that she told us that the treat was ecstatic.
“What is the fuss all about? Why are camera’s here?” Natalie asked. We were just running away from boredom during these Covid-19 times. I would not be here if it were not for the angle the whole thing has taken on social media, with people trolling us.”
The teens reacted angrily to our presence and the fact that social media users created a fuss that smoked their peers out “prematurely” from their hideout.
Asked whether she knew where Maria came from, what she did for a living and whether it was safe being in her care, her answer was negative, except that she trusted her as a friend and did not need to be afraid.
“You elders don’t understand. Once you meet online, you build a bond beyond the worries and doubts you’re raising. The questions you’re asking are yours. Don’t give me undue pressure,” Natalie said.
What remains unanswered is who Maria is and who she works with, and what business she has with minors.
What was more dramatic in the confines of the room in Komarock is when the girls got to watch the video of Shanice’s cousin sobbing.
They said the woman was exaggerating and that if Shanice got to watch the video, she would laugh her lungs out as “she doesn’t care”.
“She normally calls one of us and we beg her to return home. We know each other’s numbers off-head,” said another.
I am told about 20 girls around here are part of the ring. But we don’t know their master yet, although we suspect one of us
At around 4pm, Tabby called her elder sister asking to be picked up as she had decided to come home.
But DCI sleuths arrested them at the central business district, and took them to Central Police Station before transferring them to the Child Protection Centre.
The four girls at Komarock were also picked up to join the two.
Shanice’s mother claims that there exists a group of traffickers based in Komarock Phase One, who recruit young, beautiful and brainy girls into a ring of drug users, lesbians and burglars.
“I am told about 20 girls around here are part of the ring. But we don’t know their master yet, although we suspect one of us,” she said.
“They target bright girls. All these had over 400 out of 500 marks in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations,” she added.
Their gang leader dresses them expensively and ensure their photos are shared on Instagram.
“I withdrew all phones and computer from my daughter ever since I learnt of the Instagram group called Cartygang. But her friends still have their phones and the transactions continue,” said the distraught woman.
The group get to meet and organise their activities on social media, and only leave when called upon by their masters.
Four days after the girls disappeared, the police gave summonses for their friend Braso and her mother to appear at the station and explain if they knew the whereabouts of the girls. The duo denied such knowledge.
However, the police recorded a call in which Braso made to her brother. In the recording, the two vowed not to give away their friends’ hiding place. The audio was sent to Tabby’s phone while at the police station, but deleted immediately by Braso.
Earlier, the girls had posted photographs of the group, posing, some with something looking like a cigarette between their fingers.
It is however curious why the police did not follow up the case.
Ms Mercy Kamau, an officer at the gender desk who handled the matter hung up on us when we asked how far the case had gone.
Yesterday, the DCI on their Twitter handle, confirmed having rescued the girls.
I started smoking bhang and drinking alcohol due to peer pressure… I don’t have a boyfriend or sponsor as said at the police station.
Being a guest of the state is not a new thing to the girls.
When Shanice disappeared sometime back, they were questioned intently about her whereabouts and what they knew about the disappearance. That is when Tabby’s father saw the red flag and decided to question the dealings these tight friends were engaging in.
After the officers left, he made the three girls write confessions about their lives and, shockingly, one of them admitted to having started smoking bhang while in Standard Seven, and having a boyfriend.
Another wrote: “I started smoking bhang and drinking alcohol due to peer pressure… I don’t have a boyfriend or sponsor as said at the police station.”
The third one too confessed to being in bad company and appeared to be remorseful as the other two.
“I promise to change. If I am found in a gang, shoot me and the gang itself. I’ll stop going to friend’s birthdays,” she concluded.
The common “bad influence” the girls wrote about involved a Bridget, said to be one of the gang leaders, and another girl named Elizabeth.
Some needy children engage in such sexual exploitation for material gain, while their pictures and videos are monetised.
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