Stakeholders in the children department have decried the postponing of cases of defilement of children citing that it was affecting the memory of the children.
Speaking outside the Nakuru law courts, Nominated MCA Esther Njeri Magere, said that the children involved were suffering trauma and intimidation from the perpetrators of the crime.
“We need the young girls to testify when their memories are still fresh. Otherwise it would be unwise to rely on the memory of a child two years later as the cases are postponed for more than six months on normal circumstances,” she said.
Magere said that this had ultimately lead to parents loosing track of court dates or even following up on the new developments.
“It beats logic to bring a child to court every time to be told that the case has been postponed. We have shown our children that the justice system cannot work from a young age,” she said.
According to Julie Chege, a child welfare officer, majority of the children dreaded going to court as they would meet their perpetrators.
“The child should only be called to court when everything is ready. They should not engage them in the wait. This is extremely torturous and affects the baby severely,” she said.