Parents from Mavoko Sub-County in Machakos, have been urged to stop colluding with child molesters in a bid to ensure justice for their children.
Addressing journalists in her office on Friday, Bondeni Children Rescue Centre Director, Florence Gitau, said there were high suspicions that some of the parents whose children fall on the hands of molesters eventually collude with the culprits.
Gitau said such collusion posed great challenges to unveiling evidence once there were reported cases of child rights violation in the region especially defilement.
According to her, there could be several unreported cases of child defilement within Athi River slums due to ignorant and irresponsible parents who easily got compromised by suspects of defilement.
“Some of the children in the home who had been rescued from their irresponsible caretakers had disclosed to me that they used to be defiled while under the care of the guardians but were either warned or threatened not to tell anyone about the ordeal,” said Gitau.
She said such children share information about their ordeals several weeks or months after the incident had happened making it hard to seek justice due to long lost evidences.
Gitau noted that some of the child molesters were smart and whenever they were either caught in the illegal acts or were suspected of cohabiting with children, they lure the victims’ parents with petty cash to remain silent.
She said such parents or caretakers who accept to collude with child molesters in the region to either remain silent or hide evidence whenever children rights' were infringed, should seize from the vice since they deny victims justice and stand liable to be equally prosecuted.