Chiefs and their Assistants in Meru County will be held accountable for any life lost when the public takes the law into their hands, when dealing with a suspect for any offense.
Speaking during a public meeting for law enforcers in Meru town, County Commissioner Ngumo Karuku said Chiefs and their Assistants should be the most reliable source of security related information for justice to be served to all.
Karuku said cases of barbaric and unlawful incidents of mob justice in the area were on the increase in the last few days, where several people were reported to have died in the hands of unidentified persons.
The County Commissioner said Chiefs and their Assistants had the obligation to take charge of all matters affecting public life in their areas of jurisdiction through the assistance of village area managers and the Nyumba Kumi members.
He directed all Deputy County Commissioners (DCC) to be ahead of everybody else in ensuring those perpetrating activities geared towards denying suspects the right to be heard and receive justice, through the laid down procedure are swiftly arrested and prosecuted to contain the primitive culture in the larger Meru County region.
Karuku also urged Administrators to ensure perpetrators of child abuse were firmly dealt with, saying reports of children being subjected to various forms of abuse under the watch of adults including those expected to protect them were on the rise in the region.
The County Commissioner observed that parental irresponsibility and negligence had largely contributed to the number of children streaming into town streets in most parts of the county.
He said recent reports indicate Makutano Shopping Centre in the outskirts of Meru town was leading in child abuse cases, followed by Timau in Buuri due to the increasing population working in the large flower farms in the Sub- County.
Karuku said most of the people working in the flower farms were living in congested and insecure informal settlements, where children were subjected to all forms of abuse in the hands of adults.
The County Commissioner said in miraa growing areas, children were being lured out of school into child labour in miraa farms, where they earn very little money and, in most cases, they use the earnings for substance and drug abuse very early in life.
He observed that several others were victims of gender based and domestic violence, where parents make the environment very unfriendly for children to grow normally, under the proper parental care and protection.
Most of the times gender based and domestic violence is triggered by poverty as a result of excessive consumption of illicit brews, which should be controlled towards eradication under the stewardship of Chiefs and their Assistants, added Karuku.
By Makaa Margaret
