This archive report was first published on 9 November 2019.
On November 9, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta shared a remarkable story about his father, the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, at State House in Nairobi.
According to Uhuru, his father used to oversee female circumcision in their Agikuyu community during the colonial era. He emphasized that this was a practice accepted at the time but acknowledged that the country has since moved forward and such activities should not continue.
Uhuru's comments were made during a forum on the Female Genital Mutilation Report, which revealed that an estimated 9.3 million girls in Kenya have undergone the cut. The report was attended by community elders from 22 affected counties.
"Mimi nataka kushukuru sana wazee, unajuwa mambo mengine ni ngumu, mambo mengine hatutaki kuongea. Mambo mengine tumezaliwa na wazazi na walituambia umuhimu wa mambo ambayo walikuwa wanafanya. Na mimi ni mtu naheshimu sana wazee wetu, na sana sana utamaduni wetu. Lakini kama kitu ingine tunafika wakati na tunajiambia ya kwamba vile binadamu anaendelea kuwa more exposed, kuna mambo mengine tunasema hii haifai," said Uhuru.
He added, "lakini kuna kitu Babangu alifanya kwa sababu wakati huo ilikuwa yafaa, lakini sio kusema lazima mimi niifanye. Wajuwa ni vizuri watu kusema ukweli babangu alikuwa anasimamia hii mambo sana wakati yake. Lakini wakati huo walikuwa wanasimamia kwa kuwa walikuwa wanasema Mzungu amekuja kutunyanganya utamaduni wetu, lakini sasa tuko na uhuru wetu, sasa nguvu ni zetu."
