Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has told Parliament that preliminary investigations have cast doubt on some of the claims made in a recent BBC Africa Eye documentary alleging child sex trafficking in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County.
Speaking before the National Assembly on Wednesday, 13th August 2025, Murkomen said officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit were deployed on 6th August to verify the claims aired in Madams: Exposing Kenya’s Child Sex Trade. The documentary, broadcast on 4th August, alleged a network of truck drivers and traffickers exploiting minors in the busy transit town.
Gilgil MP Martha Wangari, who raised the matter in the House, demanded details on the scale of trafficking, the government’s response, and measures to protect and rehabilitate the affected children.
Murkomen reported that 14 witnesses — including two women featured in the documentary — had been interviewed, and locations in the programme had been examined by police forensic teams. However, he said investigations so far indicated that some individuals presented as minors were in fact adults engaged in commercial sex work, and that some may have misrepresented their ages in expectation of promised benefits.
“The BBC team sought underage girls, but in some cases, participants gave false information,” Murkomen told MPs, adding that police had identified members of the BBC crew, including a foreign national, and were pursuing financial and call records to establish links.
No arrests have been made, but Murkomen assured the House that tracing of missing witnesses and further evidence gathering was underway.
Acknowledging that cases of child sexual exploitation remain a real challenge along the Northern Corridor, Murkomen outlined steps being taken, including the rescue and safe placement of victims, provision of psychosocial support, medical care, and stricter enforcement against premises enabling prostitution.
In her closing remarks, Wangari urged the government to act firmly against anyone found to have fabricated evidence, warning that such actions risk undermining the fight against genuine cases of child exploitation.
