The children service week at the Nakuru Law courts came to an end on Friday with Lady Justice Martha Koome-led taskforce decrying the high number of defilement cases being reported.
Addressing media in Nakuru on Friday, Anne Thiong’o from the Children Department services and also a member of the task force decried the high number of defilement cases in Nakuru with Kaptembwa area.
“We have a concern of the high defilement cases at the Nakuru law courts and this shows that the society is lost. We are therefore calling on the government to ensure they take up responsibility in their parenting role” said Thiong’o.
Kaptembwa estate in Nakuru Town West has recorded the highest number of defilement cases against minors as recorded during the just concluded Children Service Week at the Nakuru law courts.
This is according to a police officer in charge of gender desk at the Kaptembwa Police station Gender officer Beth Kamau who said among 62 cases presented before the courts,20 are from Kaptembwa.
The officer attributed this to the high population in the area as the major contributor to the vice.
She, however, commended the role played by the Children Service Week in handling the backlog of cases.
“Kaptembwa has had the highest number of defilement cases and this can be linked to the high population in the area. The service week has, however, helped in clearing the backlog of cases” she said.
However, the officer noted that lack of witnesses and absconding of court sessions has remained a major challenge.
Another challenge is in the area of DNA test in cases involving children as in most police stations the OCSs claim that they are not facilitated with the Authority to incur expenditure-AIE.
“As gender desk, we still go through a lot and times during DNA tests we are forced to dig into our pockets to facilitate the same. Our appeal is that the gender desks be recognized and supported” said the officer.
Other officers, Agnes Makena and Salome Wanjiru Waithaka from Children department Nakuru West and Nakuru East sub-counties respectively echoed Kamau's sentiments.
Nakuru advocate Sylvia Muchiri who has been offering pro-bono services in cases involving children hailed the mediation aspect in handling the cases.
She called on other advocates to embrace the same adding that the delay in justice is not because of the Judiciary staff, but it is due to other reasons among them failure by witnesses to show up.
Lydia Muriuki from legal Resource Foundation in partnership with the Centre for Enhancing Democracy and good governance-CEDGG are implementing a project in Nakuru Town seeking to prevent violence against women and girls.
According to Principal Magistrate Joe Omido, of the 13 magistrates, six magistrates had been assigned to handle the cases where the children are either complainant, victims, abandoned or neglected.
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