Four married women were arrested on Sunday
for undergoing female genital mutilation
in Trans Mara East subcounty.
Police found the four, aged between 20 and 24, covered in blankets and recuperating at their caretaker’s house.
Officers said strings tied to their legs indicated they had undergone the outlawed practice.
"Two of the women who have young children told us they were not aware they were going to be circumcised," said deputy county commissioner Chaka Nyamawi.
"They said their friends told them they were going on a journey," he further told journalists in his office.
Nyamawi said the caretaker fled after learning police were looking for her. He said a manhunt for her, the circumciser and the women’s husbands was launched.
He said the women were taken to
Emurua Dikirr police station and will be charged with engaging in and encouraging FGM.
The police boss noted that people no longer undergo FGM in the month of December, opting to wait until marriage instead, when cases of the practice are least expected.
But he said in a warning: "The government is being vigilant to ensure this practice is brought to an end. Chiefs found abetting it should be ready to face disciplinary action."
Trans Mara East, where the Kipsigis live, has remained a hotspot for female genital mutilation.
In December 2015, four circumcisers were arraigned in court alongside 14 girls who had undergone the cut during the holidays.
On Sunday, Anti-Female Genital Mutilation Board chairperson Linah Kilimo asked politicians, church leaders and
teachers to .
She said the lack of goodwill by political and church leaders has hampered efforts to eradicate the illegal practice.
“All we need to stop the practice is more sensitisation. I urge every man and woman who feels the pain I feel for these girls to join me in saying 'no' to FGM," she said.