Martha Karua slams Murkomen over BBC’s child trafficking probe dismissal
People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has lashed out at Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen for dismissing the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC )’s damning Africa exposé on child sexual exploitation in Maai Mahiu.
In a statement shared via her X account on Thursday, August 14, 2025, Karua described Murkomen’s remarks as reckless and heartless, warning that such dismissals send the wrong signal about the protection of children in Kenya.
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“The statement by Interior and National Administration, CS Murkomen, dismissing the BBC child trafficking investigation is reckless and heartless. Such dismissals send a dangerous message that the voices of victims can be silenced, and the safety of our children is secondary to political image management,” Karua said.
Adding;
“To suggest these heartbreaking stories are fabricated or that the children were paid is to deny their pain and to dismiss the horrific abuse they have endured,” she added.
Karua praised BBC Africa for its role in exposing exploitation, saying that credible investigative bodies have a responsibility to reveal wrongdoing. She accused the government of attacking the messenger instead of addressing the disturbing claims raised in the report.
“@BBCAfrica, like any credible investigative body, has a responsibility to expose wrongdoing. To attack the messenger rather than address the message is a grave disservice to the victims and to Kenya’s fight against exploitation. We must stand on the side of truth, protect whistleblowers and journalists, and ensure thorough, transparent investigations into credible claims. The lives of Kenya’s children are not a matter for public relations. They are the foundation of our nation’s future,” she stated.
Karua urged the government to end what she termed a culture of denial, and instead collaborate with both local and international agencies to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.
“We have a collective responsibility to ensure their safety and well-being. Let us not fail them. The government must stop the culture of denial and instead work with local and international agencies to bring perpetrators to justice. Anything less is complicity. Kenya must send a clear, united message. Our children are not for sale,” she said.
Dismissive
Karua’s fiery remarks come a day after Murkomen claimed that the BBC documentary’s credibility was questionable after investigations found that some witnesses falsified their ages to benefit from promised scholarships by the investigative journalists.
Murkomen made his remarks on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, when he appeared before the National Assembly.
“The investigation established that the BBC primarily sourced underage girls involved in sex work. However, some of the witnesses falsified their age to qualify for the promised sponsorship,” Murkomen told MPs.
He cited the case of Lucy Njoroghe, a former commercial sex worker now volunteering as a peer educator at Karagita health centre in Naivasha. Murkomen said Njoroghe claimed to have rescued four young women from the streets, but investigations showed they were adults.
“Michelle Wanjiku, 20; Mary Wairimu, 19; Elizabeth Nyambura, 24; and Anne Njeri, 22, were all interviewed, their statements recorded, and copies of their identification obtained,” Murkomen explained.
He further told Parliament that some witnesses had been promised payments and lifestyle benefits to appear in the documentary.
“Fourteen witnesses have been interviewed, and their statements recorded with relevant documents obtained. All locations featured in the BBC documentary have been identified, visited, and documented by the crime scene investigation team. According to witnesses, BBC representatives promised substantial payments and lifestyle benefits to those who were involved,” he said.
Murkomen revealed that some witnesses were connected within the sex work community and that two women portrayed as child traffickers had disappeared.
“Millicent Wairimu confirmed that she had been approached by an individual known as Snorina, with whom she had previously worked at North Star, and introduced her to other sex workers. Two women identified in the documentary, Cherop and Nyambura, were confirmed to be Judith Nyambura Njoroge and Carolyne Kinyanjui, who had operated there for two years. Two women portrayed in the documentary as child traffickers, identified as Judy and Caro, were promised significant sums of money and have since relocated to unknown locations,” he said.
He added that no arrests have been made so far, but investigations are ongoing.
“No arrests have been made so far, but investigations are ongoing, including obtaining financial records and retrieving all data to identify all involved parties and tracing missing witnesses,” Murkomen said.
The expose
The hour-long exposé claimed that girls as young as 13 were being recruited by women known as madams. Undercover reporters posed as women wanting to join the trade and recorded conversations with those who admitted the work was illegal but still introduced them to underage girls.
Despite receiving the material months before the broadcast, police had not arrested anyone by the time the programme aired, saying they were unable to locate the people captured on film.
