The Turkana County Commissioner (CC), Muthama Wambua has put on notice chiefs and parents not keen on enrolling local children in schools.
Wambua also decried low transition rate from primary to secondary school in the region, while blaming chiefs and parents for not taking seriously the government directive that all children must be enrolled for learning.
“Experts have told me that our transition rate was very poor. It is about 30 percent, meaning that about 70 percent of our children do not go to school,” he said.
Speaking to KNA in his office on Wednesday, the CC said all area chiefs are aware of the government policy requiring every child to go to school but they were not doing enough to enforce the directive.
“We shall send chiefs home and jail parents for flouting this particular government directive,” warned the county commissioner.
He said taking children to school is one way of boosting security in the county. “Grazing land has been owing to increasing population, so we can no longer rely on pastoralism as an economic activity, we must take children to school,” he added.
Meanwhile, Wambua has hailed the cordial working relationship by the county security committee that has helped restore peace in the county, noting that cases of cattle rustling have reduced significantly.
In addition, so far about 200 guns have been recovered either voluntarily or forcefully in the ongoing disarmament exercise to mop up all illegal firearms in the area.
Meanwhile, the CC has issued a 4 day ultimatum to a section of leaders and businessmen in Lodwar and Lokichar towns to return firearms in their possession, failure to which they will be arrested and charged before a court of law.
By Peter Gitonga
