CS under fire over missing children tracking system

The government has defended its handling of missing children cases amid mounting concerns from senators over gaps in data management, staffing shortages and delays in establishing a unified national tracking system.

Gender, Culture and Children Services Cabinet Secretary Hanna Cheptumo told the Senate Committee on Labour and Social Welfare that Kenya's child protection framework combines criminal investigations by security agencies with welfare interventions aimed at tracing missing children, supporting affected families and facilitating reunification.

Her remarks came after Senator Hamida Kibwana sought a statement in the Senate over what she termed the growing number of children reported missing across the country.

According to the ministry, more than 43,800 child protection cases were recorded between 2021 and 2025 through the Child Protection Information Management System.

The figures include cases of abandoned children, abductions and children reported lost before being found.

Cheptumo said abandonment remains the most common child protection challenge, accounting for the majority of reported cases during the five-year period.

She added that thousands of affected children had received interventions, with many successfully reunited with their families.

Despite the assurance, members of the committee questioned inconsistencies between data held by the Ministry of Gender and records maintained by the National Police Service.

Lawmakers also sought clarification on cases classified as "dropped" and questioned why Kenya still lacks a single database linking police investigations with child protection records.

The Cabinet Secretary acknowledged the discrepancies, attributing them to separate reporting systems used by the different agencies. She said the government is working to integrate the databases to improve coordination and case tracking.

The committee also sought updates on the deaths of five-year-old Travis Wanjohi and one-year-seven-month-old Mary Wanjiru Muhinja, two cases that have attracted public attention.

Cheptumo said investigations remain under the National Police Service, noting that one murder case has already been filed before the High Court.

She also highlighted resource constraints affecting child protection services, including a shortage of children's officers, inadequate operational funding and slow digitisation of services.

The ministry appealed to Parliament for increased budget allocations to strengthen frontline child protection programmes.

Committee chair Julius Murgor said the Senate would continue monitoring the government's progress, with lawmakers expected to keep pressure on the Executive to deliver an integrated national system capable of improving the tracing and protection of missing children.