Kiano, a 3-year-old boy was taken from his American guardians by Kenyan authorities in April. The couple was trying to get permission to take him to the U.S. when they claim people dressed as govt. officials came and took him from their home.
#BringKianoHome has put the internet on high alert, after a three-year-old boy, Kiano, was taken from his home in Nairobi, Kenya by Kenyan authorities back in April. His American guardians, Matt and Daisy Mazzoncini, claim a group of about 13 people showed up to their apartment complex and formed a “human wall,” which made it impossible for them to intervene. Now the couple, who became Kiano’s legal guardians by the Children’s Court of Nairobi in April 2017, are demanding answers. Here’s everything to know about Kiano’s situation.
1. Kiano was found as a newborn. — He was abandoned, along with another baby believed to be his twin, according to a police report (via CNN). The twin later died. The two babies were in a plastic bag when they were discovered. As an infant, Kiano battled pneumonia and a chest deformity, according to Matt. After Kiano received medical treatment, he was taken to Mogra Children’s Centre orphanage in Kiambu, Nairobi. In 2018, Kiano was diagnosed with atypical febrile seizures, according to medical documents seen by CNN.
2. Daisy was volunteering at the orphanage when she met Kiano.— She began caring for Kiano when he was taken to the Mogra Children’s Centre at just six months old. Daisy and Matt then tried to legally adopt Kiano, but, they were told there was a moratorium on international adoption — meaning they had to be Kenyan to legally adopt Kiano. Instead, they were able to become his legal guardians.
3. In April 2019, Daisy and Matt tried to get permission to take Kiano out of Kenya for further medical treatment concerning his seizures. — That’s when they claim a group of people (about 13) entered their apartment complex and took Kiano from his own bed after Daisy put him down to sleep. “I knew they were taking him. I just felt it. But there was nothing we could do. At this point there were 13 people. And they had made a human wall,” Daisy told CNN. The group of people offered no ID, search warrant or court order, according to the couple. Matt added: “I just stood up and I started yelling and I said, ‘Is that Kiano?’ I just started screaming, ‘You are kidnapping a child right now, you’re kidnapping our son!’”
4. The couple struggled with infertility before obtaining guardianship of Kiano. — “We always knew we wanted to be parents,” Daisy told CBN News. “We struggled with infertility, which was really a hard season. And through that God opened our heart to adoption,” she said. “We, obviously, love Kiano like he is a birth child. He’s the child that God gave us and that we love so much,” she continued
5. The tweet. — After Kiano was taken, Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in a since deleted tweet that it had “rescued” Kiano. “The child is well in safe hands,” the deleted tweet read.
CNN reached out to Kenyan police for comment, but they did not respond. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta‘s office directed CNN‘s queries to the Child Welfare Society of Kenya (CWSK), a semiautonomous government agency, currently involved in a court case with Matt and Daisy over Kiano. Irene Mureithi, CEO of CWSK, told CNN that Kiano was now in “safe custody … with other children.” But, she denied that her organization was involved in Kiano’s forced removal from the Mazzoncinis’ home, calling it a “security operation.”
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