Kuria: How intense surveillance has reduced FGM cases

A joint multi-agency approach in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and sexual gender-based violence has helped reduce cases which were prevalent in the Kuria community, officials in Migori have confirmed.

Migori County Commissioner Meru Mwangi says joint efforts by stakeholders and anti-FGM crusaders saw perpetrators shun the exercise, which had been planned for the prolonged April school holiday.

Speaking to the press in Migori town on Tuesday, Mr Mwangi exuded confidence that FGM will be rooted out.

“We have stepped up the anti-FGM fight and I’m glad to note that no single case was registered during the April holidays. That’s a positive gesture and we hope the practice will be eliminated,” he said.

Joint interventions by Kenya and Tanzanian authorities have seen cases of cross border FGM cases, which were rampant in the region, reduce.

This was after Kenyan authorities held bilateral talks with their Tanzanian counterparts to heighten the fight against cross border FGM.

The interventions were anchored around ending the vice practiced by the Kuria community (Kenya) as well as the Renchoka and Bumera clans in Tanzania.

Mr Mwangi who has been leading a multi-agency team in cross border talks, said the close proximity to Tanzania had seen young girls sneaked across the border to undergo the cut.

Anti-FGM fight

“Initially, we had cases of girls as young as nine years being sneaked to Tanzania. This slowed our quest to end the vice, forcing us to engage with neighbouring authorities,” he said.

“The interventions are yielding fruit and we are upbeat that the anti-FGM fight will be won by the end this year in line with the presidential decree.”

President Uhuru Kenyatta had issued a decree to have the vice ended by 2022, and authorities have heightened efforts, which have seen perpetrators nabbed and prosecuted.

Scores of young girls have also been rescued from the retrogressive cultural practice in the recent past.

Government efforts to end the vice in Kuria had been derailed by cultural backdrops and myths.

This has, however, changed thanks to sensitization programs targeting men, elders and children from the community. Anti-FGM crusaders have also launched behaviour change campaigns.

In December last year, more than 400 girls were rescued and 80 perpetrators arrested in connection with FGM among the Bugumbe clan in Kuria West.

Enhanced vigilance

There were fears of a spike of cases during the April school holiday, with circumcisers from Bwirege, Nyabasi and Bukira clans said to have been bracing for the cut, a move that saw the government swing into action.

“We enhanced vigilance across the border after we learnt that some clans were preparing for FGM in April,” Kuria West Sub-county Police Commander Cletti Kimaiyo said.

Activists said despite efforts to contain FGM last December, several girls crossed over to Tanzania to undergo the cut, while some were secretly mutilated in the wee hours.

Data from the anti-FGM Board indicate that about 3,000 girls were subjected to cross border FGM in 2020.

Last year, two clans Bumera of Tanzania and Renchoka from both countries, subjected more than 800 girls to FGM.

This was despite a memorandum signed by the Kuria elders and the Anti-FGM Board to end the practice.

Last school term, 80 girls missed out on learning while seven parents accused of abetting FGM in the region, were convicted on their own plea of guilt.

The development came following an earlier crackdown on the retrogressive cultural practice that took centre stage in December, forcing scores of minors to rescue camps across the region, with several parents arrested.

Data from Kehancha Law Courts indicated that 57 parents were on remand after they were charged with abetting FGM last December.

Plead guilty

In a recent interview with Nation.africa, Kehancha Resident Magistrate Anne Karimi said 50 parents were granted a Sh500,000 bond each, while seven were convicted on their own plea of guilt, setting a new precedent in the fight against FGM.

Last March, 22 minors testified against their parents at Kehancha Law Courts before they were repatriated to their homes. Others are expected to testify in ongoing cases.

The perpetrators, mostly the children’s parents, were arrested in Tagare, Nyamosense-Komosoko and Masaba wards in Kuria West Sub-county.

At least 94 children who had been subjected to the cut, testified against their parents for perpetrating the cut during last December school break.

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