Trans Nzoia governor raises alarm as 1,100 girls are impregnated in six months
Over 1,100 teenage girls aged between 12 and 19 have been impregnated in Trans Nzoia County in six months.
Revealing the statistics, Governor Patrick Khaemba said the figures obtained from the ministry of education are shocking.
He challenged all stakeholders to take up their positions to tame the challenge.
Khaemba said if the trend is not corrected, then the future of such girls is not assured since the majority of them will drop out of school and be forced into early marriages.
"These figures are shocking, very shocking and I assure you if we don't act, we may lose a certain generation," said Governor Khaemba
The County boss reported that over 11,000 underage girls are seeking antenatal care in various health facilities within the county
"Health department records indicate that over 11,000 girls below the age of maturity are seeking antenatal care services in our hospital" Khaemba added.
Khaemba said that legal action should be taken against adult men who take advantage of young girls and end up impregnating them, threatening their life's, education and future.
He attributed school dropout and poor performance among girls to teenage pregnancies.
"The culprits of these heinous acts should be brought to book and dealt with according to the laws of this country," he said.
On his part County Commissioner, Sam Ojwang' said the county security committee is in the process of looking for the men responsible for the pregnancies so that legal action can be taken against them.
"We have given our chiefs and their assistants very firm instructions that men responsible for these acts must be held accountable," Ojwang' said.
According to the Sexual Offences Act of 2006, any person below 18 years in Kenya is considered a child and cannot consent to sexual intercourse.
