By Our Reporter
Thirty-six schoolgirls in Bungoma, Kenya, have reportedly become pregnant, prompting women senators to demand investigations and justice for the affected minors.
The Kenya Women Senators Association (KEWOSA) said the reported pregnancies raised serious concerns about the safety of school-going children and the protection of girls from adults who exploit minors.
Nominated Senator Catherine Mumma, who led a 10-member KEWOSA delegation, said the development was particularly disturbing because the girls were still in school.
“When you find out that 36 girls in one school have been impregnated, it raises serious questions about moral decay in society,” Mumma said.
She expressed concern that adult men were allegedly taking advantage of girls who had not completed their education.
Mumma said KEWOSA would engage lawyers to assist the affected families in pursuing justice and would follow up on the matter to ensure that those responsible were held accountable.
She said the reported pregnancies had disrupted the girls’ education and childhood and stressed the need for appropriate action to protect their rights.
The senators made the remarks on Sunday during a visit to Malindi Women Prison, where they also called for reforms aimed at improving the welfare and rehabilitation of female inmates.
During the visit, Nominated Senators Hamida Kibwana and Tabitha Mutinda paid Sh90,000 in cash bail for a female remandee who had been unable to secure her release.
Mutinda said the intervention was part of efforts to assist women remandees who could not afford bail.
Kibwana called for the implementation of prison reforms provided for under Kenya’s 2010 Constitution, stressing that inmates retain fundamental rights despite being deprived of their freedom of movement.
She said previous visits to Langata Women Prison showed that some women were serving sentences for petty offences because they could not afford to pay fines.
According to Kibwana, more than 250 women prisoners had been assisted to pay their fines during her tenure as KEWOSA chairperson.
She added that she had written to President William Ruto and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki seeking consideration for the release of petty offenders.
Nominated Senator Catherine Wakwabubi called for a review of policies governing the reintegration of former inmates, noting that many face difficulties returning to society after serving their sentences.
She also advocated technology-based learning in prisons to equip inmates with skills relevant to the digital economy.
Mutinda urged authorities to provide prisons with computers and reliable internet services to facilitate virtual court proceedings and reduce the movement of prisoners and suspects between correctional facilities and courts.
KEWOSA treasurer, Nominated Senator Mariam Omar, said the association would continue assisting female remandees to secure bail, particularly mothers whose children are left without maternal care when they are detained.
Kilifi Deputy Governor Florence Chibule urged prisoners to take responsibility for their actions while ensuring they have opportunities to acquire skills that can help them become productive members of society.
Coast Parliamentary Group chairperson Gertrude Mbeyu called for petty offenders to be prioritised in efforts to decongest prisons. She also donated five sewing machines and 15 boxes of sanitary towels to Malindi Women Prison.
Deputy Commissioner General of the Kenya Prisons Service Jane Kirii said women account for about 3,300 of Kenya’s estimated 63,000 prisoners.
Kirii said the Kenya Prisons Service remained committed to protecting inmates’ constitutional rights and called on Parliament to strengthen legislation supporting rehabilitation.