FOUR GIRLS WHO USED TO KIDNAP BABIES - Tan Prints · 2012-07-31 · KIDNAP BABIES. 1 14. FOUR GIRLS...

FOUR GIRLS WHO USED TO KIDNAP BABIES

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14. FOUR GIRLS WHO USED KIDNAPED

The women who stole children

Nyirabihogo, Nyirakana, Nyirabyatsi and Nyirahuku lived in the city of Kigali. Their mother had passed away and so they lived with only their father.

A respectable old man

Their father was a retired civil servant and fast becoming an octogenarian. One day he looked at his daughters and said, “My children, I am not getting any younger. I want to leave this city and retire in my hometown.”

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The city; an industrious centre

“My hearing is getting worse. I can not hear the machines and all this urban noise is driving me mad.

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We can not buy good quality milk and the one we get from the country is far too expensive and by the time it gets to the city it has been contaminated. I want to live in a place with fresher and cleaner air. I would go go to be and sleep under a quiet sky.” When his daughters heard this were taken aback at first but a good daughter listens to their parent especially if the parent is of a certain age

Two girls in the country, standing between a forest and a valley

Nyirabihogo and Nyirakanyana woke up early the next morning and went to their father’s hometown to find a suitable retiment home for him. They came across a place next to Gishwati forest near where his father was born that was perfect. They particularly loved the spectacular view that allowed them to see both Lake Kivu and Gishwati.

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A forest with different kinds of wild life

They went for a walk into Gishwati forest and saw trees they’d never seen before, animals they’d only heard of; monkeys, chimpanzees, antelopes, warthogs and so on. They saw beautiful, wild birds like crested cranes, black kites, robins, the African wagtail, etc. They finally saw the wisdom in their father’s reasoning. When they returned to Kigali, they told their sisters all that they had seen.

Nyirahuku was happy and accepted that they should but Nyirabyatsi did not want to hear about the move

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to the country at all. She had a boyfriend who was a chauffeur in the city that she did not want to leave. The two lovers had planned to marry and Nyirabyatsi was determined that nothing should hinder it.

Not too longer after, her boyfriend came to ask for her hand in marriage. He paid the dowry and they were married. After the wedding, her sisters and father sold their farm animals and moved to the house next to Gishwati forest.

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The house was in the perfect location; there was a lake on the West a a forest on the East.

When the old man saw the house, he was filled with joy and spent most of his days bathing in the sun and gazing at the lake. Nyirakanyana and Nyirahuku preferred going for walks; sometimes they would go into the forest and and other times they would go for a stroll along the lake. One day after one of their walks, Nyirabihogo told her sisters, “I have learnt something since we moved here. I have an idea.” “Tell us then” Nyirakanyana asked. “I am older than you both so listen to me. I am starting to see why our father did not want to retire in the city. You can both see that the air here is cleaner and the food is organic and much healthier. The reason people in cities like Kigali do not have a good standard of life is because they are overcrowded. This means that the conditions that allow nature to thrive are changed.

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Factories in the city

They are something that the city does to maintain a balance between nature and the people but mostly people do more harm to the environment than they think.

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“Did you not know that the development of urban areas ruin natural wildlife?” she continued, “We should do something to ensure that the beauty and vibrancy of this environment does not fade.”

Three young women discussing

When Nyirahuku heard this she was pleased by the idea, “That is true! When dad wanted to retire to a place when the natural environment was thriving he came her. But I am starting to notice that people who

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live here don’t care much for their surroundings. Where shall we go when we are retired and are looking for a place which natural surroundings?”

Nyirakanyana chimed in saying, “Well, if we are want to keep this place looking like this, we have to do something about it.” Nyirabihogo was happy to hear that her sisters supported her initiative, “I am so glad that you all agree with me. But since we have agreed that we shall never marry, who shall carry on our legacy? Who will continue the work once we are old and infirmed?” The sisters fell silent and considered this for a while until Nyirakamana came up with a solution, “How about we go to Kigali and pick out children from good families and bring them here? If we start them young, they will grow up knowing how to conserve the environment.” The three girls agreed that this was the right course of action and they went to Kigali disguised and nannies who pick up children from school. They arrived on the first day of school dressed in dressed that had the writing:

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ASSOCIATION OF NANNIES (KIGALI BRANCH); WE CAN TAKE YOuR CHILDREN TO AND FROM SCHOOL AND ANYWHERE ELSE YOu WANT THEM TO GO.

Three young women wearing dresses with adverts written across

It didn’t take long for a smartly dressed woman to approach Nyirabihogo saying, “I was going to take my child to his father in Butare, but would you do it for me please? I won’t be difficult, the she knows where it is.” She smiled. “By the way, how do I pay you?”

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A mother, her little girl and a woman dressed in an advert dress.

Nyirabihogo answered, “It is a simple procedure. You pay for our transport and expenses. You will have to give me a written address and I will give your my membership card from the association. Once the child has reached their destination, you may go to our Nyamirambo office, give them my membership card and pay for the service.”

The woman was anxious to go meet up with her boyfriend so she handed over her daughter Kabanyana to Nyirabihogo and left in a hurry. She had been divorced from her husband; a professor at the National university in Butare. Kabanyana was a 10 year old girl and although she lived with her father in Butare, she visited her mother during the holidays and returned home on the first day of school. Nyirabihogo took the little girl and the board the bus to Butare. When they arrived at Nyanza, the bus stopped for a rest so that the passengers would stretch their legs and getting

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something to eat. Kabanyana had packed pizza but wanted to use the rest room.

Nyirabihogo took the sleeping drugs that she had brought along and mixed them with the little girl’s pizza. She took a bit, she fell into a deep sleep minutes later. Nyirabihogo cuddled the sleeping girl and told the bus driver that they had reached their destination.

Nyirabihogo and the sleeping 10 year old girl

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She took the girl to the passengers’ boarding are and they boarded the bus to Kibuye with a step over in Birambo. In Kibuye she changed buses and went to Gisenyi. Nyirahuku had also been successful in her search. She had found a boy from her grandfather’s side of the family who was on his way to boarding school in Ruhengeri. His name was Kanyoni and he didn’t care for school.

He always managed to get into fights in every class until they assigned him his own chair, in his own corner. He could not concentrated in school mainly because he had lost his parents in the war and had to be raised in Congo. He learnt their language and not Kinyarwanda and so when he returned to Rwanda and was thrown into school, he found it difficult to learn. As a final resort, his grand parents on his mother’s side and his rich uncle in Kigali had contributed towards sending him to a boarding school. While they were on the bus she heard how much he hated school, how he often sickness so that he would be sent home to Kigali. And so when they got to the school she told the principal

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that the boy had symptoms of malaria and therefore had to be taken home to seek medical attention.

The lady who was checking in the pupils told her, “If it is Kanyoni you are talking about, he falls sick a lot aand has to be taken to Kigali anyway.”

Nyirahuku ran back to Kanyoni and told him, “I have just spoken to the lady in charge of admission and she told that there is an outbreak of diarrhoea in the school. Every child is being taken back to their home so I’m taking you back to Kigali.” When the boy heard this, he was very happy to be returning home. They boarded the bus and on the stop over in Ruhengeri, she bought him a juice, spiked it with sleeping drugs and gave it to the boy to drink. One sip, two sips, and the boy feel into a deep sleep.

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A young woman in a bus station carries a 10 year old boy

She carried him into another bus heading to Gisenyi. Nyirakanyana had found the task of taking a child home difficult. She thought about taking her sisters twins but decided that they were too young. Furthermore, her sister would eventually find out and would take the kids back. “That kind of thing puts blood between relatives anyway” she pondered.

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As she walked down the street, she found the son of a very success businessman called Mirenge.

The boy was talking on a mobile telephone and standing beside limousine.

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Karande was a spoilt little boy who had told his parents that he would not go back to school if he didn’t to go to Lake Kivu on holiday. Mirenge had cancelled his work appointments to take the boy to see the Lake but when he saw Nyirakanyana he was relieved. He gave her everything that they would need, took down her phone number and assured his son saying, “Call me if you need something. I have topped up your calling credit so there should be no travel.” He jumped into his car and rode of in a great hurry. adid not speak to Nyirakanyana until they were in Gisenyi. He was sad and angry that she had turned out of nowhere and

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ruined a trip with his father. He had to break his silence in Gisenyi and discuss the details of the trip with her. His father had arranged that they should stay in a hotel for a while and Karande knew where it was. In the hotel room, the boy went change his clothes and Nyirakanya made him tea which spiked with heavy sleeping drugs. When he drunk it, he collapsed into sleep. She grabbed his phone, turned it off and put it in her bag.

She picked him up from the bed and carried out of hotel. Luckily for her the bill had been paid in advance, so no one asked questions.

The young woman carries a boy into a taxi. She took the taxi to Gishwati and also turned off her telephone.

In the morning, Kabanyana and Karande were surprised to find themselves in a strange room.

A boy and a girl sleep in twin beds in a room.

Karinde spoke up, “What is this place?” Kabanyana replied, “I don’t know” They exchanged stories on how they had be kidnapped and sit in silence, afraid.

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They thought their kidnappers were looking to do them harm. Karinda climbed out of bed and went to the window. He opened the curtain and saw the sun’s rays shimmer through the forest leaves, “You’ve got to see this. It’s beautiful!” They admired the beauty of their scenery but soon their moods were dampened by thoughts of kidnapping. They approached the door,

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found it unlocked and when the pushed it back they were surprised by what they saw. It was a dinner room that was set for breakfast.

“I don’t think they are going to hurt us,” Kabanyana said. Karinda agreed thinking that their kidnappers were actually great hostesses. Whilst they were still deciding about the food, Nyirabihogo walked into the room wished them a good morning and pointed to the showers in case the need to wash. They took their showers and when they were nice and dressed, they had breakfast. Midway, they remembered that they food had been spiked before and stopped chewed. When

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Nyirabihogo noticed their reaction she took a huge bite out of the bread and sipped on her tea. Relieved and happy to get some food, the two kids finished their breakfast.

Karinda and Kabanyana go sightseeing in Gishwati forest

Soon after, they went sightseeing into Gishwati forest. But back at the house, everything wasn’t going as smoothly. Karande had woken to find he was not in a hotel. When he went to look for his phone he could not

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find it and so he broke down and cried. He banged on the door asking to be let out. Nyirakanyana said to her sisters, “I am so very upset. Both of you got luck and found nice kids. But I’m stuck with that one in there. I feel like taking him back where I found him.” But her sister rebuked her, “That is far too dangerous, maybe he’ll change.” They knew what Karande they would had to put up with it until they reach their goal. Taking him back, especially with his fiery temper would arouse suspicion and draw un wanted attention to the sister.

Karande cries and refuses to eat

When they woke in the afternoon to give him food, he

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refused to eat. They were concerned about but decided to leave him on his own whilst they took Karinda and Kabanyana to the beach. They left their housekeeper Sarubare in charge and asked him to prepare their dinner, look after their father and to keep an eye on Karande. Karinda and Kabanyana had a good day out and they the views of the beach, the forest and the lake.

Karinda and Kabanyana visit Lake Kivu

When they first saw the lake, it was as if they were seeing a miracle.

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They were excited to be so close to the water. They saw all types of fish in the lake and saw swimmers also playing in the water. They saw boats and ships carrying cargo and passengers, and even spotted some men rowing. They were sad to see how freely people fished for big and small fish alike. They would have liked to see the small fish released back into the water where they could live a longer life. They went into boat for the first time in the lives and sailed to an island where the saw all kinds of exotic birds that flew north of the river into the palm trees.

At around 11 oclock, Nyirabihogo and Nyirahuku decided that the children had had enough and had to

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go home. The kids were disappointed but obeyed any way. They were enjoying themselves so much that they were beginning to forget that they had been kidnapped. On their journey back they noticed many man created problems that affect the environment; they witnessed over farming, building too close to the shore which could reduce the shore line and contaminate the purity of the lake water.

A methane gas refinery

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They were taught that Lake Kivu was a very important resource to Rwanda. It can provide fish, but more importantly a natural resource called methane gas that can provide fuel for airplanes and provide electricity for Rwandans and the people in the region. They noticed how erosion caused by farming on steep hill near the beach had piled soil into rivers that flow into the lake.

Soil erosion affects the farm who lose the healthy top soil on which they farm and it also causes harm to the environment.

When they got to the house, Sarubare had prepared food and they all sat down on the dining room to eat. Nyirabihogo’s father was also present and was delighted but the sight and laughter of children. He entertained them with stories of his children and they giggled with him. Karande, still defiant, refused and it really worried the girls. It was in the evening that he finally succumbed and had a bite to eat. It took convincing and fighting from Karinda but he gave in and Nyirahuku have a meeting with Kananyana and Karinda.

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After three days, Nyirabihogo and Nyirahuku held meeting with Kananyana and Karinda. Nyirabihogo raised her voice and said, “ Dear children, we thank you for the way you have behaved sicne we interrupted your lives and brought you here to our home. We mean you no harm, in fact we need your help in a project to save the environment that we are setting up.

Starting from tomorrow, we are going to put the project in place. Meanwhile in Kigali the airwaves, the print media were full of the story of 3 children kidnapped by unknown women posing as nannies. When Kabanyana was on her way to Butare, her mother had called her father to see how her daughter was.

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A university professor

But the professor had been surprised and the worried by questions since his daughter had not arrived. When he asked his ex-wife why she did not call him to tell him about the nanny as soon as they had boarded the bus, she had nothing to say to him. “ You always do things like this! Go tell the police what happened. I am on my way to Kigali, I will take the first bus out.” Karinda’s grandparents were shocked to see their grandson’s photo in the newspaper under the heading ‘Three children kidnapped by unknown women.’

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Karinda’s grandparents lived in a modest house

They called the principal of the school who told them that the girl who brought their grand son to school quickly took him back claiming that he was sick. The principal explained that he agreed to this because Karinda often went to Kigali when he was sick without his guardians complaining. This confused the old couple even more, they called their son and they met with him at the police station where they reported their grandson’s disappearance. When Karande’s father heard the news on the radio, he called his son’s phone but could not get through. He was an important and busy man who did not have much time for his son which is why he had given him a telephone with 5000

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FRW worth of credit so that in case of emergencies his son could call him. That had always been their custom.

He called the number the nanny had given him and found no answer also. Shocked and terrified for his son, he left everything that demanded his attention and went to the police.

The police office was busy with activity and the top priority was the case of the missing children abducted by the unknown women. But for every clue or eye witness they had, it was contradictory and added to the confusion surrounding the case.

The police

The police issued a warning to all parents asking them

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to take extra caution with their children’s security. They also questioned travellers with children asking them if they were their parents or guardians. If they weren’t relations, the police insisted that they provided the parent’s phone number which they immediately called and asked them if they were sure that their children were going to be safe with that person.

Life in Gishwati was much more idyllic. Kabanyana and Karinda had began working on the initial plans to help save the environment. Whilst they went to measure the edge of the forest so that they would ask the farmers not to farm too close to it Karande remained at home. When he saw that the house was empty, he searched the rooms until he came across a telephone. He called his father right away but could not reach. As a successful business man he was very much in demand therefore he carried 5 mobile phones with him. When his son called him, he didn’t know which phone was ringing and while he was trying to figure it out, the phone stopped ringing. Luckily it rang again and this time he answered, “Dad, please come and rescue me. They have

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looked me up in a place I don’t know and the battery is going to die.”

What do you see outside?

Karande on the phone

“There is a large forest on one side and a big lake on the other. It looks like Kivu the last time I saw it.” Karande’s father did not delay and went to the police straight away. He told them what his son had told him and they knew that he was being kept in Gishwati. The police in Kigali co ordinate with the police in the Western province and

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asked them to investigate any unusual neighbourhoods and residents.

Karande father impatient and deeply worried for his son’s safety left the police station and chartered a plane to Gisenyi. When he landed, he went to the local police station and asked that they might dispatch a search team to look for his son. He volunteered himself to be part of the team.

Two truck full of policemen go to Gishwati

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As they drove to the location described by the boy, Karande called his father again and a police offer who asked him to describe the house in which he was being held. The boy described it to the best of his abilities.

District officials were quickly assembled and asked if they knew a house that fit that description. Two men recognised the house; one even went as far as saying that it was home to three women and their elderly father who recently moved in from Kigali.

The police drove off to find the house and when they did, they surrounded it and then searched it. They found the three children, unharmed. Journalists started arriving and took photos of the children and the women who had abducted them.

Finally, the police force split into two with on part taking the children and the other, the women. The children were united with their parents and the women charged with kidnapping. A week later, the first court of Nyarugenge adjourned for the trail of Nyirabihogo, Nyirakanyana ans Nyirahuku. The prosecutor accused

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them of kidnap and imprisonment. Among the many spectators who came to watch the trial were Human Rights and Child Protection organisations. But they were all surprised by Karinda and Kabanyana’s testimonies.

They swore the oath to tell the truth and only the truth and then began giving the most incredible testimonies. Kabanyana took the stand first, “I had no problem with the accused. They took me out sighseeing to places my family had never taken me before and treated me better than my parents do.”

Kabanyana and Karinda testify before the judgesShe added, “The time I spent was very important because I learnt about conservation of environment and that is what I want to dedicate my life to. These women you call abductors tried me kindness and I call them my best friends.”

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When asked for his testimony, Karinda repeated what Kabanyana had said much to the spectator’s amazement.

The judge reads the verdict

After three days of trial, the judge gave a “Not Guilty” verdict and ordered that the three women be released immediately. Karinda and Kabanyana ran to them and kissed them, thrilled at the verdict. Nyirabihogo

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composed herself and said, “In order for these kids to continue the conservation work that we started, we are giving them half of our land in Gishwati.

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FOUR GIRLS WHO USED TO KIDNAP BABIES - Tan Prints · 2012-07-31 · KIDNAP BABIES. 1 14. FOUR GIRLS...

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Transcript of FOUR GIRLS WHO USED TO KIDNAP BABIES - Tan Prints · 2012-07-31 · KIDNAP BABIES. 1 14. FOUR GIRLS...