Police in Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County, have arrested a 56-year-old man suspected of child trafficking after a 10-year-old boy was found in his custody without his parents’ knowledge.

Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said residents of Nyamira village raised the alarm after spotting an unfamiliar man moving through the area with the child.

The suspect, identified as Gilbert Nyabuto, claimed he was helping the boy secure accommodation when questioned by police. 

But investigators say the explanation unravelled quickly as the child’s mother, from the nearby Salona area, was located and has since been reunited with her son.

Nyabuto is also accused of impersonation and fraud. 

Detectives found academic certificates belonging to other people, forged Kenya Defence Force (KDF) recruitment letters, and a fake National Intelligence Service (NIS) identification card among his possessions. 

He had allegedly been introducing himself as a Deputy Commissioner with the NIS, complete with fabricated service details.

“The suspect allegedly introduced himself as a ‘Deputy Commissioner’ with the National Intelligence Service and presented an identification document bearing that rank and an accompanying service number,” the DCI said in a statement.

Statements from both Nyabuto and the boy have been recorded at Kiminini Police Station as investigations continue. 

The DCI has opened a formal probe into the impersonation and fraud allegations.

The arrest has unsettled parents and guardians across the region, coming in the middle of the school holidays when many children are at home and likely less supervised.