Elders, chiefs and their assistants in Garissa County have been blamed for the rise in Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) cases in the county.
Speakers during the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation celebrations blamed chiefs and elders of the Nyumba Kumi initiative for encouraging the exercise in their areas.
Children’s officer Benjamin Kinyua accused the chiefs and elders of not doing enough to end the vice especially in areas where FGM is prevalent.
Speaking at Garissa Primary School, Mr. Kinyua said the local administrators are not performing their duties well.
Mr. Kinyua urged the government to assess the administrators by the number of arrests and cases they prosecute annually for them to be held accountable.
The officer claimed that elders and chiefs fail to report incidences of FGM because those practicing it could be family members or for fear of being victimized by the community.
“Chiefs, their assistants, and Nyumba Kumi officials have allowed girls to undergo the outlawed FGM. FGM should form part of the chiefs and assistant chiefs’ performance contractors.”
“You find in communities that practice FGM, the elders, and chiefs from those areas are shy to fight it head-on for fear of being victimized by the community,” he said.
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