Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi has sharply rebuked the planned move by a section of legislators to amend the Sexual Offences Act to lower the age of sexual consent.
He termed as mad those proposing alterations to the law to give 16 year-olds power to consent to sex. The current age of consent is 18.
He accused the manufacturers of contraceptives in the country of pushing for the amendments to help them expand the market for their products.
“As a nation, we cannot condone such debate unless Satan has taken us captive to do his bidding,” Matiangi said.
Lowering the sexual consent age, the CS said, will open a Pandora's box for the country which has already taken strides in protecting girls from sex pests.
“A girl aged 16 is in Form 2 and this is the person someone somewhere is salivating to have as a wife. It is stupid,” Matiang'i said.
We want our young girls to go to school, he said.
“There is someone who wants to see them hopping from lodging to another for sex in the name of accommodation and modernity,” the CS warned.
The CS who spoke at Ibeno in Kisii county on Friday also said the government was committed to its development agenda for its people.
“We have rolled up our sleeves to work for our people, this is the clarion call of the President, nothing else,” Matiangi said.
He said the more than Sh450 billion already set aside for development projects if used well will significantly leverage the wellbeing of the common mwananchi.
The CS further told Gusii leaders to unite and work for the people who elected them.
“It is time to help our youth get jobs, ensure there are good roads to enable our people to travel safely to their destinations. It's not the time for politics,” the CS said.
Matiangi said the country cannot move forward with some leaders who are hiding under the cloak of religion even as they fleece coffers of the country dry.
“This is unacceptable and unholy that some of us want to use religion to commit all manner of theft and waste the country’s resources. Let's be truthful and honest and serve our people,” Matiangi said.
Speaking at the event, Kisii Senator Sam Ongeri hinted that President Uhuru Kenyatta may anoint Matiang'i as his successor.
He rallied members of the Gusii community to back the CS adding that already he enjoys cordial support across the country.
Ongeri said as a Nasa member, he is sure his party leader Raila Odinga will endorse Matiangi for the presidency when the “proper time comes”.
“My crystal ball is reading a bright political future for us and we can’t afford to waste this opportunity,” the senator said.
He said they are grateful for the handshake which appears to have tamed some ‘rabid dogs’ who had begun to go wild looting the country.
(Edited by O. Owino)
