Government agencies to blame for early pregnancies

Bomet county women representative Mrs Joyce Korir has accused government agencies of abdicating their responsibility in dealing decisively with defilement cases, teenage pregnancies and early marriages in the region.
Speaking in Bomet town Sunday, Mrs Korir said it was not enough for government leaders to accuse the local political leadership of inaction while leaving suspected rapists to roam free in the society.
“They should instead arrest and prosecute men who are involved in these vices in accordance with the sexual offences Act 2013 to serve life imprisonment,” she said.
She pointed out that some of those who defile and impregnate girls were supposed to be their role models including their teachers and leaders.
“We have cases where even spiritual leaders, politicians, chiefs and even fathers defile the innocent girls,” she lamented.
Mrs Korir called on parents to counsel their children on acceptable behaviour in order to avoid early pregnancies.
She said men should treat school girls as their daughters and refrain from befriending them or having affairs with them.
Adding that “men should respect the school girls and if the school uniforms were their problems, they should buy their wives school uniforms so that they look like school girls,” she retorted.
Mrs Korir accused the leadership in education of trying to cover the problems affecting girls in schools since reports of early pregnancies in schools are only reported when the candidate are either sitting for national examinations in KCSE and KCPE.
“The trend is worrying and immediate solution should be well thought out by all the education stake- holders instead of blaming communities,” she said.
She asked the investigating agencies to fast-track the process and arrest those involved in the teenage pregnancies experienced not only in Bomet but in the country.
The County MP was categorical that the culprits should be brought to book and made answerable.
She dismissed claims that one girls’ school in the county had more than 10 students pregnant sitting for KCSE adding that her research findings were that it was only one candidate sitting for examination who was pregnant in that school but not 13 as reported in the media.
Bomet county commissioner Mr Geoffrey Omoding had disclosed to the press that one school had 13 pregnant girls sitting for examinations, a statement disputed two days later by the County Director of Education Mr Idiatsi Mabale.
The County MP also asked the security agencies to arrest the culprits who gang-raped a form three school girl in Menet Bomet East Sub County.
Bomet Police Boss Mr Samson Rukunga said three of the suspects had been arrested one taken to court and charged with rape.
He said investigations were on going and that when all the six member gang is arrested they will be charged for the girl to have justice.
By Joseph Obwocha