The Garissa County Commissioner (CC), Meru Mwangi has cautioned chiefs and their assistants against abetting retrogressive cultural practices that deny the girl child the right to education.
Talking to KNA in his office on Friday, Mwangi said cases of underage girls being subjected to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and being removed from school to be married off is a concern his office is keenly following up on.
The CC said that any chief whose area of jurisdiction will be found to be recording cases of FGM, arranged or forced marriages will be dealt with in accordance with the law.
“I am personally taking up this mater and giving it all the attention it deserves because it has a bearing on the 100 percent transition of candidates sitting for national examinations,” Mwangi said.
“Any chief or assistant in whose area of jurisdiction is found to be abetting FGM, forced or arranged marriages with the knowledge of the administrators’ risk being sacked,” he added
The CC said that there are adequate laws and statutes that have outlawed these cultural practices and the chiefs have no excuse why they should not enforce them.
“The chiefs are well covered by the laws of the land and no one can intimidate them when they are enforcing these laws,” he said.
On enrollment, Mwangi said that the number of children joining schools in the region remains wanting.
He urged the elected and opinion leaders together with the chiefs to carry out a sustained campaign to ensure all school going children are enrolled.
By Jacob Songok
