This archive report was first published on 22 June 2020.
Prof. George Magoha, the Education CS, has cast doubt on reports of a high number of schoolgirls being impregnated since the closure of schools in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking during a visit to Rivatex in Eldoret to assess the production of face masks ahead of the gradual reopening of schools, Prof. Magoha stated that the numbers reported were 'obnoxiously high.'
He further announced 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 usually do not show before three months, suggesting that the reports of pregnancies were exaggerated.
His comments come after it was reported that over 4,000 schoolgirls in Machakos were impregnated between March and June this year.
Addressing the press in Machakos town on Wednesday, Children's Department Officer Salome Muthama stated that the incidences of pregnancies had increased following the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the closure of schools.
Ms. Muthama provided a breakdown of the cases, stating that Masinga sub-county had 104 cases of pregnancies among children between the ages of 10-14 and 601 cases among those between 15-19 years old.
She accused parents of neglecting their children and urged them to take a more active role in their children's lives, stating that a majority of the cases involved close relatives.
Ms. Muthama also challenged the Judiciary to provide the Children's Department with legal advisors to help speed up the cases, stating that most of them were languishing in child correctional centers due to lack of court representation.
The Machakos County government, however, refuted the figures, stating that they had not been verified and asked for proper investigations to be conducted.
Education CEC Lazarus Kivuya stated, 'it's impossible to have such a big number within the last few months,' adding that hospitals were better placed to provide the correct figures since that was where 'most deliveries are done.'
