With cases of child defilement and sexual harassment on the rise, Lamu Woman Representative Ruweida Obbo says that imprisonment is too lenient a punishment.
“I feel like crying when I hear about the rampant cases of child defilement and rape. It is tiring to have such small girls defiled each day and even worse by their own parents and relatives.
Why should such people be sent to jail instead of having them chemically castrated as a warning to others? In jail they simply get to carry on with their lives only that they are under a different roof and that’s too lenient,” said Mrs Obbo.
The legislator said it is too lenient for child defilers to be sent to prison “to serve easy terms as they get to enjoy food and good shelter” while their victims are left with lifelong scars.
A 2018 report by the World Vision, Lamu branch, established that at least 10 girls are defiled every month in Lamu West Hindi Division.
The report also noted that most of the offences are committed by relatives and people known to the children, particularly their own biological fathers and uncles.
Mrs Obbo said that among the leading causes of child defilements in Hindi is the consumption of illicit brews like mnazi and mkoma.