Incest is increasing in Kisii to the extent that some adolescent girls openly have sex with their uncles and cousins.
"It appears what was a taboo is being practised and only sensitisation can help. In Africa's close-knit societies, these vices take place away from the prying eyes of outsiders or security agencies," said Petronila Achiengo, project officer at Daraja Vision, an NGO battling gender-based violence in Nyaribari Chache subcounty.
The situation, she says, is compounded by the rising cases of teachers busted in lodgings with schoolgirls. Courts in Kisii handle one to three such cases daily.
Already, education stakeholders in the region have raised the alarm demanding action.
Kisii County Schools Education Board chair Henry Onderi said a multi-sectoral approach is needed to tackle teenage pregnancies. Cases have risen to more than 4,000 since January.
In neighbouring Nyamira county, more than 3,000 girls are attending antenatal care.
Onderi told the Star chances of many of the girls going back to class are slim. "In such situations, some parents convince their lovers to marry them," he said.
Ruth Mogaka, the head of gender-based violence desk at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, said the focus should be on prevention of violence.
