Why Kilifi, Kwale lead other counties in teen pregnancies
Kilifi County Executive for Health Charles Dadu at a recent interview said the county has witnessed a reduction in teen pregnancies due to easy access to family planning.
What you need to know:
- Informal courts have been blamed for denying girls who are sexually abused justice.
- In a typical case, three men convene a baraza under a tree in the village to discuss the matter. At the end of it, the parent of the girl is “compensated” with as little as Sh5,000, or chicken, cows, or goats.
Kangaroo courts, poverty and lack of parental supervision are to blame for the high number of teenage pregnancies in Kwale and Kilifi counties.
The informal courts have also been blamed for denying girls who are sexually abused justice.
An investigation by nation.africa in the two counties has revealed that most parents of girls who are molested settle the matter outside the formal justice system by getting village elders to intervene. This has turned what should end up with punishment for culprits and justice for the girls into a gravy train for the elders and parents.
In a typical case, three men convene a baraza under a tree in the village to discuss the matter. At the end of it, the parent of the girl is “compensated” with as little as Sh5,000, or chicken, cows, or goats.
“It has become a business... The parents are paid a little money, out of which they pay the village elders,” said a child rights activist in Kwale. In some cases, she revealed, chiefs are involved.
Kwale County Commissioner Joseph Kanyiri issued a stern warning against those conducting the cases. He said defilement is listed under the Sexual Offences Act and it was a crime for a man to have sex with a girl under the age of 18.
“We only know of one court and that is by the Judiciary. If there are any other courts, either by elder relatives, or village elders and parents, they are not allowed. All these cases of rape, bestiality and incest cannot be solved under a mango tree,” he said.
He told parents to report the cases to police as soon as they occur, for evidence to be gathered and offenders arrested.
Authorities have also told parents to be more responsible. In Kwale for instance, men lure girls with money, which they then use to buy their mothers gifts, Ms Agnes Mwangi, a social worker in Makongeni said.
“The mothers enjoy these gifts without caring where the girls get the money from. They later are shocked when their daughters tell them they are pregnant. For the fathers, most of them are jobless... All they do is get drunk,” Ms Mwangi said.
She called for training for parents on how to bring up their teenagers, especially in this age where technology exposes children to many vices.
Ms Janet Karisa, a village chairperson and a volunteer with Kesho Kenya, said many times, boda boda operators take responsibility for the girls, providing them with clothes and sanitary towels.
“The men give money to the girls, and the girls in return end up sleeping with them,” she said.
She explained that in conversations with the men, they revealed that most girls were willing to have sex with them in exchange for more monetary benefits.
Mr David Kahindi, a retired chief in Kilifi, praised the ban on disco matanga for helping to reduce the vice, but lamented failure by the community to prioritise education.
Reports by Siago Cece, Farhiya Hussein and Maureen Ongala
