Kibera Member of Parliament Mr Kenneth Okoth has called on parents, teachers and other authorities to soberly and ethically tackle morality issues among children and youth in Kenya.
Mr Okoth, who is also a member of the Parliamentary Education Committee, raised concerns over the manner in which police handled the recent incident in which 41 students were arrested drinking and engaging in sexual activities in a Nairobi bound bus on their way from school.
The MP blamed police for failing to protect the students’ identity pending investigation when they opted to share the nude photos of some those who were caught carrying drugs in their inners wears.
“When we are dealing with indiscipline cases in our children and youth, we need to handle that with respect knowing that they also have a right to be protected from shame. It was not appropriate to show the naked photos of those girls in public however immoral they might have been. Instead of helping them correct their characters, they have now been subjected to low self-esteem, and shame,” lamented Okoth.
Speaking to Hivisasa in his office in Kibera on Monday, Mr Okoth urged teachers and parents to embrace counselling if they are to achieve the best out of the young generation that is gradually getting polarised by modernization. “We need to restore morality in these young people and not exposing their downfalls to an extent that they can no longer be trusted by the society,” he advised.