The UN says family structures and socioeconomic conditions are the leading contributors to juvenile crimes.
Head of youth programme on drugs and crime Wambui Kahara on Thursday said a larger number of teenagers aged 14 to 17 come from broken families. Wambui spoke at Juvenile and Restorative Justice Forum held at Strathmore School of Law.
“Over 90 per cent of children in rehabilitation centres come from broken and dysfunctional homes,” she said.
She also blamed the problem on economic inequalities and negative stereotypes, saying children from low-income families are more likely to engage in crime to satisfy unmet needs and desires than those from affluent families.
“Over 80 per cent of the neighbourhoods in question are low informal settlements and this shapes the notion that these settlements are spaces of crime."
She emphasised that the UN is interested in reintegrating children and providing alternative lives to prevent them from engaging in crimes and drug abuse.
Law Society of Kenya representative Brian Odongo concurred that juvenile crime is firmly rooted in poverty. He said a lot more should be done to protect children, citing adequate financial support for their programmes and improving conditions of juvenile centres.
Arresting children and placing them in the juvenile court system increases the likelihood of their continued involvement in crime, particularly when detention is imposed, he cautioned.
“Statistics at the Kenya Prisons Service show that the highest numbers of repeat offenders are those who had an interaction with an institution of law, such as detention centres,” Odongo said.
Similarly, the majority of reformed offenders are those who, even though convicted, were not sentenced to custody but diverted to alternative measures.
Rap singer Henry Ohanga, popularly known as Octopizzo, accused law enforcers of targeting minors from slums. Most police officers make arbitrary arrests and fail to give children a fair chance to be heard, he said.
The founder of Octopizzo Foundation vouched for rehabilitation as the best way to ensure behaviour change and empowerment among the young.
“If these centres are rehabilitation centres, then we need to see changes when people come out,” he said.
Octopizzo Foundation empowers underprivileged young people in society so they can exploit their potential through art, music and sports.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
