This archive report was first published on 22 June 2020.
Prof. George Magoha, the Education CS, has cast doubt on the validity of reports suggesting thousands of schoolgirls have been impregnated since the closure of schools in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking during a tour of Rivatex in Eldoret to assess the production of face masks ahead of the gradual reopening of schools, Prof. Magoha described the numbers as 'obnoxiously high.'
He stated that the Ministry of Education and the Medical Council would investigate the matter and make a pronouncement in the coming days.
Prof. Magoha explained that pregnancies typically do not show until three months, suggesting that the reports of pregnancies were exaggerated.
His comments come after it emerged that over 4,000 schoolgirls in Machakos were allegedly impregnated between March and June this year.
Addressing the press in Machakos town on Wednesday, Children's Department Officer Salome Muthama attributed the increase in pregnancies to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to school closures.
Ms. Muthama provided a breakdown of the cases, citing Masinga sub-county with 104 cases of pregnancies among children aged 10-14 and 601 cases among those aged 15-19.
She accused parents of neglecting their children and urged them to take a more active role, stating that a majority of the cases involved close relatives.
Ms. Muthama also called on the Judiciary to provide the Children's Department with legal advisors to help speed up the cases, as most of them were languishing in child correctional centres due to lack of court representation.
The Machakos County government, however, refuted the figures, stating that they had not been verified and calling for proper investigations to be conducted.
Education CEC Lazarus Kivuya questioned the accuracy of the figures, saying it was 'impossible to have such a big number within the last few months.'
He added that hospitals were better placed to provide the correct figures, as they were where 'most deliveries are done.'
