The Nakuru County government is targeting 381,000 children under the age of five in the polio immunisation campaign slated to start on Saturday.
Nakuru Officer in Charge of the immunisation Dr Ego Egare said the National Campaigns for the exercise will kicked off in Gilgil.
Speaking to the press in his office on Friday, Ogare said they would fight all the religious leaders who were opposing the move.
“We will arrest and prosecute all the parents who will deny their children the vaccine. As of now, the children cannot make the decision on their own and it is up to the state to determine what is important for them. For now we need to ensure that they are vaccinated,” he added.
He hit out at some religious leaders for misleading the public on the exercise.
“Some of the leaders do not have children. It is up to the public to realise that the exercise is meant to benefit all of them,” he said.
Ogare pointed out that even the recording of a single case of polio would indicate an outbreak of the disease.
“We intend to ensure that we reach out to all the children. We will be doing a door to door campaign aimed at reaching out to everyone. We will also go to churches and playgrounds,” he added.