Last year, the Education ministry threatened to arrest parents,
Seven girls from a secondary school in Kuresoi North have dropped out in the past four months after getting pregnant.
Nakuru county gender officer Vivian Yegon said children’s officer and local administrators were working with the police to arrest the men responsible for defiling school girls.
The girls, aged between 14 and 16, are the latest victims of increasing cases of defilement and teenage pregnancies in the county. “Last year we recorded 52 cases of teenage pregnancies in this region.
Some of the girls have named the men responsible for their pregnancies. Most of the suspects are motorcycle
She expressed concerns over rising incidents of teenage pregnancies in the region, saying efforts by her office and Ministry of education officials to fight the menace did not seem to be bear results.
“We have established that the culprits waylay the minors at dawn when they are heading to school and in the evenings on their way home. Kuresoi North’s terrain seems to be working in favour of defilers as the girls have to pass through valleys and bushes on their way to and from school,” she said.
Maendeleo ya Wanawake official Eunice Lelei attributed the menace to outdated cultural practices, parents and the community, who she accused of neglecting children and abdicating their responsibilities.
She faulted many parents for choosing out-of-court settlement with the culprits, after receiving some form of compensation, instead of reporting them to police for legal action.
Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang warned that parents who enter into social arrangements with the offenders to circumvent the law would also be arrested.