Police in Kilifi have launched a manhunt for an officer who allegedly defiled a minor in custody.
Kilifi DCIO Said Mohamed the officer attached to Kijipwa police station went missing after the 14-year-old girl was molested.
“Following a complaint by a minor who claims to have been defiled by a person whom she identified as a police officer, investigations have been launched. Right now all efforts are being made to look for him, we have sent out a signal about his disappearance,” said Mohamed.
An identification parade that was to be conducted on Wednesday at Kijipwa police station failed after the officer failed to show up.
He could not be reached on phone.
The minor accompanied by her teacher and an officer from a rescue centre waited for hours at the police station but later left.
“The girl was taken to the police station as a child in need of care and protection. She was being processed for another case of defilement,” he said.
Kilifi Child Protection programme officer William Mganga accused police of exposing the girl to danger.
“The girl had been defiled by two men and had been taken to the station for her to go to court the next day. This is already a mistake because instead of taking her to a rescue centre they decided to keep her at the station,” Mganga said.
A source said the officer was at the station in the morning but left in civilian clothes.
The complained on Tuesday when she was appeared before Shanzu principal magistrate Diana Mochache.
“She disclosed that she had been defiled by a police officer on Monday night," the source said.