This archive report was first published on 17 June 2020.
Published on June 17, 2020, a worrying trend has emerged in Machakos County, where over 4000 school girls have been impregnated in the last three months.
According to Salome Muthama, the County Children's Officer, 200 of these girls are under 14 years of age.
Muthama spoke during the celebrations to mark the Day of the African Child at Machakos Rescue Center in Katoloni, Machakos town.
She attributed the upsurge in pregnancies to the long school holiday occasioned by the Coronavirus pandemic, which led to parents sending their children to rural areas where they were being taken care of by aged grandparents who were unable to provide close supervision.
"As we celebrate this day, just within this Covid-19 period alone, some 4000 girls have been impregnated in our county," Muthama declared.
She called upon parents to take more responsibility over their children, especially the girl child, and to involve themselves fully in taking care of them.
Muthama also urged those charged with the dispensation of justice to children to make deliberate efforts to eradicate delays in the process, particularly the police who were urged to fast track cases involving children.
She lamented that cases involving children in Machakos took up to two years or more to resolve, which she noted was a denial of their rights.
Reacting to the shocking news, Machakos Women Representative Joyce Kasimbi condemned the wave of pregnancy among children and said parliament would pass a law to hold anyone responsible for impregnating a child accountable.
