Kisii county residents must work as a community to combat cases of early marriages that have been occasionally reported in local areas, the county first lady has said.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ongwae who was touring Kitutu Chache North on Tuesday said that the community had an obligation to ensure that children got access to education rather than being subjected to early marriages due to poverty.
She urged members of the provincial administration to be vigil and take stiff actions against men who took advantage of families facing poverty situations to marry their school going ladies.
“Sometimes it astonishes me that we still experience early marriages just because of poverty. This is a crime and it must be resisted by the community. We have to work with our leaders and provincial administrators to ensure that the vice is combated,” she said.
Mrs. Ongwae urged residents to take advantage of free primary education and subsidised secondary education fees to ensure that their children are equipped with knowledge and skills.
“I don’t think we can use poverty as an excuse to see our children being married at a tender age. We have been provided with CDF, county education funds and the free and subsidised secondary education fees by the national government. We must condemn early marriages affecting our girls as a community by letting the world know our stand,” she added.
She urged the county leadership and CDF committees to target children who were vulnerable and sponsor their education as a measure of combating the vice which is reportedly on the increase in the region.