Kindiki orders crackdown on disco matanga in Coast region

The order comes months after Gender CS Aisha Jumwa lifted a previous ban.

In Summary
  • The CS said disco matanga has been one of the contributory factors for early pregnancies and school dropout in the Coast region.
  • Speaking during a public baraza in Kilifi on Wednesday, Kindiki said 93 per cent of students had joined junior secondary school.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki addressing Kilifi County residents on February 22,2023.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki addressing Kilifi County residents on February 22,2023.
Image: MINISTRY OF INTERIOR

Interior CS Kindiki Kithure has ordered a crackdown on the organisers of dicso matanga in the Coast region.

The CS said the disco has been one of the contributory factors for early pregnancies and school dropout in the Coast region.

Speaking during a public baraza in Kilifi on Wednesday, Kindiki said 93 per cent of students had joined junior secondary school.

"But I'm worried about the seven per cent because we want all the children to go to school. That's how serious we are," he said.

Those who have joined Form One amount to 69 per cent.

"That is why I have said if the disco is the reason 31 per cent of the children do not get to Form One, I must fight it," Kindiki added.

Further, the CS directed the National Government Administration Officers (NGAOs) and other security officers in the six coastal counties to launch a search for learners who are yet to report for Junior Secondary School and Form One and ensure 100 per cent transition by end of February.

Kindiki directive on crackdown comes months after Gender and affirmative action CS Aisha Jumwa lifted the disco's ban in Kilifi.

While lifting the ban in November 2022, Jumwa ordered the police to arrest minors who will be found in the disco matangas.

"We promised to uplift small businesses and not kill them. The ban has deprived many people of their livelihoods hence I lift the ban on disco matanga. Minors should not be allowed in these functions. Police should arrest those who are found attending the function," she said.

The previous ban had been imposed by former Interior CS Fred Matiang'i in 2019 after over 17,000 cases of teenage pregnancies were reported in the county.

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