This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
On July 15, 2020, authorities rescued a 12-year-old girl who had been married off to two men in a span of one month in Maji Moto village, Narok South.
The girl, who wishes to remain anonymous, was first married to a 51-year-old man, but she fled the marriage after just two weeks.
She then eloped with a 35-year-old man, who was already married, and was taken to the Narok Children's Department offices after being rescued from the second marriage.
'I did not know him before and I did not love him. I told my family I didn't want the man, but my father said the man could feed us and that I would get married to him,' the girl said.
Her father had planned to marry her off to the elderly man, who had promised to give four cows for dowry, but the handover was shelved due to monitoring by the local administration.
The girl's plight is a classic example of how the closure of schools to curb the spread of Covid-19 has impacted negatively on the girl child in pastoral communities.
Area Chief Rimoine Maiyone and Narok Peace Ambassador Joshua Kaputa got wind of the girl's predicament and acted fast, rescuing her and working with well-wishers to get her a safe haven.
The chief said police were looking for the girl's father and the two 'husbands' who have since gone into hiding.
Narok is one of the counties leading in number of teenage pregnancy cases, according to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS).
