Interior and Coordination of National Government Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i has directed chiefs and their assistants to arrest men responsible for teen pregnancies in Trans Nzoia County.
Matiang’i at the same time banned disco matangas in Trans Nzoia as a measure to save teenage girls from getting pregnant.
Addressing national government officers at the County Commissioner’s office Monday, Matiangi warned chiefs who neglect to take action against perpetrators of teenage pregnancies that they risk appropriate disciplinary action.
He was responding to a report by the Trans Nzoia County Director of Education Dr. Salome Maina who put the figure of teen pregnancies in the region at 10,000 during the Covid-19 period.
“Some of those who have impregnated these girls are adults, I want before I leave Kitale to be told that they have been arrested,” said Matiang’i.
According to the CS, chiefs are in a better position to know people responsible for teenage pregnancies as they come from their villages.
He said the vice was facilitated by culture of disco matangas that encourages indulgence in sex to replace the deceased during the funeral.
“As a government, we cannot sit and watch our young girls being defiled at the expense of culture. I want all those involved to be arrested and taken to court. We have ended such vices in other counties and Trans Nzoia will not be exceptional,” Matiang’i said.
He added, “I want security officers to arrest owners of disco equipments, impound the apparatus and charge them accordingly. This practice must come to an end.”
Police reports had indicated that only seven culprits had been arrested and cited kangaroo courts as the main cause of failure to prosecute culprits in court.
The CS asked parents to play their roles of responsibility adding that laxity in parenting was also a contributor of teen pregnancies.
At Kitale National Polytechnic where he addressed chiefs and their assistants, the CS reminded them of their duty to stamp out illicit brews.
He promised residents that incidents of robberies will come to an end as security will be beefed up especially ahead of the coming referendum.
Matiang’i told students of Kitale National Polytechnic that the government has plans to improve infrastructure at the learning institution.
He said that the rise in enrolment in technical institutions was because of government capitation that subsidized tuition.
The CS was flanked by his Devolution and ASALs counterpart Eugene Wamalwa, Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya and local leaders.
by Pauline Ikanda
