Kisumu parents arrested for giving four-year-old child alcohol
A man in hand cuffs.
A man and his wife will on Monday be charged with negligence after they were found to have given their four-year-old boy alcohol.
The two were arrested after neighbors at their house within Kisumu Central sub-County raised concern over the welfare of the minor who was rescued by the Kisumu County Children’s department and Shaurimoyo Police Officer and taken to a safe house.
The action was taken after a video showing the minor in a drunken stupor went round on various social media circles.
In the video, the boy wails painfully as he struggles to walk, or even get into a basin to take a bath. His mother can be seen standing at the doorstep of the house as neighbors question why she gave the boy alcohol.
It took the intervention of the concerned hawk-eyed neighbors to find out what the innocent child had been going through and Ms Eve Anam, who heads the children’s department, to help him.
Upon being alerted, the department swung into action and sent an officer who went on the ground to ascertain the truth of the situation.
According to Ms Hellen Tuli Apiyo, children’s rights activist, the woman has been doing this for a very long time and no action has been taken against her.
“A woman and her husband are giving their four year old child alcohol. We are shocked and saddened today by this act and surprised when we were told this has been happening for a very long time,” said Ms Apiyo.
She stated that the parents will have to explain why they have been carrying out that heinous act.
“I am asking all neighbors to always alert the relevant authorities when they witness such acts whether it is done deliberately by the parents or not so that the matter can be treated with the urgency it deserves,” said Ms Apiyo.
The two who are being held at the Kondele Police Station will be charged with negligence at the Winam Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning.
Some residents of Kisumu condemned the act, while others proposed that the parents be warned and taken for counselling since they could be going through some serious problems that could have led them to the vice.
