The Ear, the Eye and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

Details:

Published in 1995 by Puffin Books.

Best guess, I read it in 1997.

Awards:

Newbery Medal of Honor

From the Publisher: 

Zimbabwe, 2194: General Matsika's three children steal out of the house on a forbidden adventure--and disappear. Their parents call in Africa's most unusual detectives: the Ear, the Eye and the Arm. Their mission takes them from underbelly of the city to swaying top of the Mile-High Macllwaine Hotel. Yet the children stay just out of their reach. The evils of the past, the technology of the future, criminals with plans far beyond what anyone can imagine - can the Matsika children escape from the heart of it all?

First Line:

Someone was standing by his bed, a person completely unlike anyone Tendai had ever met.

Alternate Covers: