This archive report was first published on 6 September 2019.
Published on September 6, 2019, five women from Kiagu in Imenti Central, Meru County, have been sentenced to three years in jail or pay a fine of Sh200,000 each for undergoing female genital mutilation.
Resident Magistrate Evelyne Wachira handed down the sentence after the women pleaded guilty to the offences at Githongo Law courts.
The women, Florence Kiende, Caroline Wanja, Charity Karimi, Winfred Kawira, and Charity Muthoni, were charged with undergoing FGM on various dates in July and August this year.
Magistrate Wachira stated that the sentence was intended to act as a deterrent, citing the rise in cases of FGM.
“FGM is a backward rite of passage which must be frowned upon. Ignorance of the law is not a defence. I have noted that cases of FGM are on the rise hence the need for a deterrent sentence,” the magistrate ruled.
Two of the women were rushed to hospital after they were found to have septic wounds.
The victims were arrested on Wednesday after a tip-off from the public, and the perpetrator, identified as Ciomutema, is still at large.
