Police in Kwale County have arrested the parents of a 12-year-old girl whom they suspect was defiled and impregnated by a close relative, now believed to be on the run.
Matuga Deputy County Commissioner Alexander Mativo said that the parents were arrested to assist police with the ongoing investigations.
Mativo said the minor, a pupil at a local primary school, is four months pregnant, adding she did not report back to school in January when learning resumed after a prolonged break occasioned by the Covid-19 outbreak.
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He said the victim was traced in the recently launched back to school operation that seeks to account for all students and ensure they resume physical learning.
Speaking to the press in Kwale town on Monday, February 15, Mativo said they suspect the minor was sexually molested by a close relative.
“We have to verify the information we are receiving because some say a relative eloped with the minor with the full knowledge of her parents,” Mativo said.
The administrator said the minor was taken to Kwale County Referral Hospital where medical examinations confirmed she was pregnant.
Mativo decried the rise in incest cases, saying since the year began his office had received 10 cases.
He said the number could be much higher as residents have a tendency of failing to report such cases to authorities.
“It is heartbreaking that parents are colluding with the culprits to deny their daughters justice. In some instances, old men sleep with children, and instead of reporting the matter to the police, parents and guardians lie that the girls have moved to other schools yet they remain at home waiting to give birth,” he said.
He blamed parents and guardians for fanning sexual and gender-based violence in the region.
