Parents in Machakos county have been put on the spot over the rising cases of early pregnancies among teenagers.
In his office on Tuesday, Machakos Deputy Children’s Officer (DCO), Francis Kariuki said that lack of proper guidance from parents was to blame for the problem.
He said majority of parents had abdicated their roles and moral guides in their families leaving the work to teachers.
"Nowadays parenting has been left to teachers and that's why many of our teenagers are going astray," said Kariuki.
This has caused underage girls and boys to freely engage in premature sexual activities not knowing the risk they are putting themselves in.
Kariuki further blamed rogue boda-boda operators in the area for taking advantage of vulnerable minors who they lure into sex using money or free rides.
The trend, Kariuki added, exposes the girls to risks of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.
"Underage girls are disappearing from classrooms and hooking up with older persons among them boda boda riders who entice them with money and later convince them to settle down with them as wives or girlfriends,” he said.
He noted that many of the affected parents instead of reporting such cases to relevant authorities opt to settle the matter outside courts with the culprits after receiving some money as “dowry.”
The DCO, cited, Mwala and Katangi as some of the worst affected areas in the county.
He called for concerted efforts from both parents and relevant stakeholders to help address the matter which has been cited as a big hindrance in the development of the area.