• MP says Administration and security officers who get compromised by sexual offenders should be sacked.
• She says the Sexual Offences Act should be reviewed to give harsher penalties for sexual offenders.
Image: Alice Waithera
Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege has urged parents to selfishly protect their children from sexual predators.
The MP has said the high numbers of underage pregnancies recently reported by the government are alarming and should be curbed by all means.
Parents, she said, should discourage their children from spending too much time on their mobile phones and ensure they check their social media forums and the friends they engage with.
“We do not yet know when schools will reopen so parents need to take their parenting responsibilities very seriously,” she said on Friday when distributed foodstuffs to vulnerable families in Kigumo.
She said it is paramount for parents to keep their children occupied with household chores and discourage sons from hanging around shopping centres where they can be inducted into drugs and other criminal activities.
Failure to do this, Chege said, many children will be in jail or be parents by the time schools reopen.
Religious leaders were also challenged to organise door-to-door activities to counsel youths.
In Kigumo, she said, numerous youth groups have been formed to sensitise residents on the coronavirus pandemic.
She pledged to support such groups as they show that the youths, mostly university students, are thinking out of the box.
She explained that youths have started a habit of jogging early in the morning or late evenings which she said could progress into immoral activities.
“These groups start innocently but change into something else. Parents should take keen interest and find out what kind of activities they engage in.”
Chege cautioned parents to provide children with desktops instead of mobile phones.
If they have mobile phones, then they should ensure they have no password for easy monitoring of the sites visited.
“We know kids are being recruited into illegal groupings through social media forums such as WhatsApp,” the MP said.
She, however, noted that the Sexual Offences Act should be reviewed to give harsher penalties for sexual offenders.
“Anyone defiling a child shows that they do not know how to handle their sexual organs and should be castrated so that they do not repeat the offence. That is my stand,” she said.
"Administration and security officers who get compromised by sexual offenders should also be sacked."
The MP lauded MPs who supported Transport CS James Macharia against the impeachment motion by Nyali MP Mohamed Ali.
She said those who have indicated their willingness to withdraw their signatures for the motion should write to the speaker to frustrate the motion.
“I am asking Speaker Justin Muturi to keenly peruse the motion and do away with it if it does not meet the threshold,” she said, adding that a Cabinet secretary’s roles are different from the government’s and that Macharia should not be crucified over responsibilities that are not his.
Chege also urged the House Business Committee to ensure the motion does not get to floor of the House terming it as malicious and uncalled for.
Edited by R.Wamochie