A Machakos woman delivered a bouncing baby girl at Kithimani Law Courts shortly after a magistrate acquitted her of killing her son.
Virginia Mbinya, was staring at a long jail term after she was arrested in connection with the death of her 19-month-old son.
It was a bittersweet moment for the woman after a post-mortem examination linked the baby's deathto starvation.
Homa Bay man surrenders to police after killing his ex-wife Man who killed his brothers lover jailed for 40 yearsKithimani Principal Magistrate Paul Matanda ruled out foul play in the death of Travis Muuo when he set Ms Mbinya free on April 15.
Shortly after Ms Mbinya walked to her freedom, there was commotion outside the courtroom as she went into labour.
Business at the court came to a standstill as court officials and police officers attempted in vain to rush her to hospital.
She delivered a bouncing baby girl right outside the courtroom after women set up a makeshift maternity station using lesos.
After the delivery,police and court officials rushed the mother and her baby to Kithimani Dispensary.
They showered them with gifts which included warm clothing, toiletry and cash. The police escorted them home later that evening after the hospital discharged them.
When Nation visited Ms Mbinya at the sleepy Kituluni Village in Yatta sub-County, there was excitement as Mzee Julius Maingi's family welcomed itsnewest member.
The baby is doing well, Ms Mbinya told the Nation.
I have named her Justice Mwikali. The women who played midwives at the court suggested I name the baby Peace. But I dropped the idea because my late son, Travis, was also called Muuo which means peace.
'I chose Justice because I had witnessed justice being served, and Mwikali in honour of Winnie Mwikali - one of the detectives who handled my case. She did not push me around. She was motherly, she explained.
As she battled strong light to steal glances at her mothers chin, Baby Mwikali had no idea she had a huge task ahead already cut out for her.
She was born into a family whose unity had been tested by the death of her brother underunclear circumstances.
I want my daughter to grow up to become a lawyer and ultimately the Chief Justice, Ms Mbinya said.
The Nation established that the death of Baby Travis aggravated an already bad situation in Mzee Maingis family.
Ms Mbinya had been at the centre of squabbles that had rocked the family recently.
She was only one year old when her mother died in 2000. She had been at loggerheadswith her stepmother.
The older woman had consistently raised issues abouther stepdaughters discipline. We hope that the newbornbaby will draw them closer and strengthen the family bond, an administrator involved in the case told the Nation on condition of anonymity.
We thank God and the police officers at Matuu Police Station for taking care of my child. She went out alone and has now brought me a grandchild, Ms Maingi told the Nation on Wednesday.
Hidden under the veneer of excitement, Ms Mbinya battled mental anguish as she struggled to come to terms with the series of events that followed the death of her firstborn child on March 25, 2024.
She was arrested and locked up at Matuu Police Station after stumbling uponthe lifeless body of the 19-month-old son in a thicket near the family'shomestead after a night out in an incident that sent shockwaves beyond the region.
Mother and son had spent good times together the day before. Security agencies treated her as the main suspect after it emerged thatshe had left with the son, a day before she stumbled upon his lifeless body in a thicket.
