[Federal judge drops sex charge against doctor in first female genital mutilation case.(photo-Society's Child)]
Female Genital Mutilation crusaders and stakeholders in Garissa are now claiming the law prohibiting the practice was weak and had a lot of loopholes that allowed the offenders continue with the girl circumcision undeterred.
Speaking during the world FGM day at Garissa Primary school, the speakers pointed fingers to the laxity of the chiefs and elders of the nyumba kumi initiative for abetting the exercise in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
The group blamed the local administrators for failing to report incidences of FGM to their bosses because those practicing it could be their immediate relatives.
According to the children’s officer, Benjamin Kinyua, the only way to achieve this was to have the chiefs and their assistants to sign performance contracts that state the number of arrests they make annually.
"The fact that the chiefs and their assistants do not have performance contracts that's why they are not ensuring the FGM law is implemented fully," said Kinyua.
He said a lot of FGM practices were being done in most locations in Garissa Sub County but they fail to report to the authorities for fear of being victimized by the community.
Zainab Ali an activist with a local NGO said since the enactment of FGM laws in 2011 no one has ever been arrested and charged in a Garissa court.
She added that there has to be a way the laws are tightened in such a manner that they are punitive to the offenders.
According to UNICEF statistics, 97% of the Somali girls undergo circumcision with many of them developing a complication during birth and menstruation periods.
The activist groups proposed that the County Government establish a revolving fund to those women doing the cut so as to venture into a meaningful business.