Five Kakamega girls rescued from early marriage, returned to school

School girls/FILE
School girls/FILE

Five girls have been rescued from forced marriage in Bunyala, Navakholo Sub-county, and taken back to school.

Area Assistant County Commissioner Dickens Mawewe

expressed concern that unscrupulous fathers were ready to marry-off their daughters for as little as Sh200.

“We were able, with the help of head teachers, to taken action to save the girls,” Mawewe said, adding that one was in primary school.

Wycliffe Ottawa, who is Principal of Nanganda Day Secondary School,

thanked the area administration for supporting the education of girls.

Ottawa, who spoke in his office on Monday, said the school readmitted four of the girls.

"Two, who are in forms three and four are very bright," he said, adding that the Board of Management (BOM) rescued the two others.

He said the school will buy uniforms for the form ones and give them lunch for free.

The government caters for their education under the free day secondary school programme.

Ottawa regretted that dishonest parents push their daughters into marriage in a bid to evade poverty.

“The inability to raise lunch money should not [be a reason to] deny a child education,” he said.

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