Garissa Governor Nathif Jama has raised concerns over increased cases of triple threat and other sex-related vices in the county.
Jama who was speaking during the Mashujaa Day celebrations at Garissa primary school grounds regretted that vices like gang rape, sodomy and pedophilia were never heard of in the Muslim societies in Garissa but now cases are being reported.
“Today, we are having a serious problem with vices that were not heard of this county. We are working with various stakeholders and the security teams to ensure that we counter this evil,” Jama said.
“Issues of gang rape, sodomy and pedophilia are things we have not had in this county ever in the past. This is reckless and senseless behavior that must not be accepted here at all costs,” he added.
According to the county CEC for Gender, Hawa Sahal, seven cases of sodomy have been reported this year alone with suspicions of many other unreported cases.
There are at least 51 active court cases on rape, sodomy and gender violence related crimes in Garissa.
Garissa County Commissioner Mohamed Mwabudzo warned that the security agencies will not allow the menace to continue and that anyone caught will not be forgiven but face the full wrath of the law.
Mwabuzdo noted that the shameful actions are against any religious teachings and warned elders against settling such cases under the Maslah resolution.
“Cases of sexual and gender based violence, teenage pregnancies and new HIV infections have increased in this county and we have to come together as leaders to find solutions for this,” Mwabudzo said.
“We still have some people who are wrongly practicing Maslah. Maslah is not bad but not every person or elder can do Maslah. There are some elders who have made it some kind of income generator for themselves. We will have to agree on who to be in those sittings through the Alternative Justice Resolution and come up with guidelines so that we know who is where in these meetings,” he added.
The CC further warned against child marriages in the county saying that it was outdated and that the societies have evolved to allow the girl child to finish school and pursue life goals without being married off early.
He said that there is a tendency for older men to marry underage children and later divorce them leaving them vulnerable in society.
“When you marry a young girl at 14 and then by the time she is 20 she has already given birth to four or so children and then divorce her, leaving her with her children and no sustainable income because she didn’t even complete school,” he said.
“We will not allow the lives of our children who should be in school to be destroyed by anyone. We will arrest those who are marrying them plus the parents who are marrying them off,” he added.
According to the National Syndemic Diseases Control Council (NSDCC) 691 young children between the age of 10 and 19 are impregnated every day.
About 1.4 million Kenyans are living with HIV with at least 90 percent of these people are under medication, 40 per cent being adolescents and young people aged between 15 and 25 years old.
By Erick Kyalo
