Kenyan man arrested after national outrage over him bragging about sex with a girl of 10

The Kenyan authorities have arrested a man after he reportedly bragged about having sex with a girl as young as 10 on social media. The man, who calls himself Mohammed Alfayo on his Facebook page, boasted about his sexual encounter with an underage girl in a now-deleted post, to which he added photos of himself and the girl.

He allegedly wrote: "Today I had sex in the bush with a standard 4 gal". In the Kenyan education system, girls in standard four are aged 10 and under.

'Silly, stupid, demeaning'

The post caused national outrage, and the hashtag #ArrestMohammedAlfayo, in reference to the Facebook page, was trending.

A user, Allan Ofula, wrote: "#ArrestMohammedAlfayo. This is silly, stupid, demeaning and an abuse of a minor, a barbaric act that cannot and should not be tolerated or entertained. What is wrong with some Kenyan men?"

Another Facebook user, Amos Amoh posted: "Look at this sex pest. This are kind of the guys that should be locked in for life or castrated."

Other voices on social media, meanwhile, urged users to stop sharing the picture of the girl, reminding them victims need privacy. "Re-post only the criminal's photo widely," Scott Bellows, a Kenyan professor, said on Twitter.

Police still looking for alleged victim

A user, who created a page named #ArrestMohammedAlfayo, shared the incriminating post, calling for the man to be found and arrested: "Share! Share! Share this page widely! This is a shame to the whole society!"

The man, who police identified as 26-year-old Kelvin Alfayo, was arrested and is expected to appear in court on 5 October.

National police spokesman George Kinoti told the BBC the man was found hiding in western Bomet County.

Police, however, were still looking for the girl Alfayo allegedly assaulted on 4 October. The authorities were investigating whether his Facebook comments were true, local police chief Jonathan Ngala told the BBC.