•New Life Mission CEO in Kenya, Emma Gitau, said protection of children from harmful practices is not a favour but a right.
•She said sexual abuse among children has been increasing at an alarming rate in the recent past.
Image: KURGAT MARINDANY.
Child labour, early marriages and sexual abuse cases are pushing the rights of children to the brink in Mashuuru, Kajiado.
Mashuuru assistant county commissioner Felix Olouch said the number of children employed in sand-harvesting mines is rising each day.
“We are worried that their lives are being ruined by their irresponsible parents. We are going to act on such parents,” Oluoch said.
He spoke on Saturday during the handing over of a children’s protection unit building to Mashuuru police station by the New Life Mission.
Olouch said Mashuuru has been operating with a children’s officer for close to four years and many issues that are inhibiting the rights of children are rising every day.
New Life Mission CEO in Kenya, Emma Gitau, said protection of children from harmful practices is not a favour but a right.
“Sexual abuse among children is a universal problem and one of the most pervasive human rights violations,” Gitau said.
She said sexual abuse among children has been increasing at an alarming rate in the recent past.
The CEO said after working with the various communities in Mashuuru, several years back, she saw the need of having a child protection unit at the local police station.
“We cannot afford to keep rescued children with offenders in the police stations around because they will be more traumatised,” Gitau said.
Area former chief Solomon Limpaso, who is a board member of New Life Foundation, thanked the organization for the rescue centre.
Limpaso said the building would serve as a rehabilitation centre for children involved in drugs and criminal activities.
He appealed to the government to deal with cases of early marriages that have affected school-going girls.
Robert Mugo of NLM said sexually abused children are denied their right to enjoy their fundamental freedom and grow up as normal children in society.
Image: KURGAT MARINDANY
“Our children deserve dignity” Mugo said.
The area police commander Philip Chepkwony offered three police officers to work with the children’s department in handling children's cases.
Mashuuru deputy county commissioner, Baraza Wafula, promised to work with other government departments to look at the rising cases of molestation of children, early marriages and child labour.
Wafula said his officers will be carrying out impromptu operations in sand mines and arrest those employing minors in the sand harvesting industry.
“We shall deal with cases of early marriages. Our children belong to school. The law is clear and we shall use the existing laws to charge parents marrying off their children,” he said.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris