Scramble for share of circumcision millions

As the circumcision season approaches in Ameru region, various stakeholders are jostling for control of the rite of passage.

Medical, religious and cultural groups and individuals are out to make a killing as thousands of boys who sat for the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam will undergo the cut before entering junior and senior secondary schools next year.

Although the Ameru people, who live mainly in Tharaka Nithi and Meru counties, are known for upholding their traditions and cultural practices, the region has largely embraced medicalised circumcision, where the cut is administered by doctors, either in a hospital or at home.

However, a small percentage still cling to the culture of circumcising boys in the bush by a traditional circumciser.

In the recent past, churches have dominated the circumcision 'business' in the name of ensuring that boys undergo a safe rite of passage and receive proper counselling during the seclusion period.

Counties across the country are littered with numerous banners and posters on buildings and church gates informing the public that churches are planning to conduct mass circumcisions.

On average, a single boy is charged between Sh8,000 and Sh12,000, which covers the circumcision by a doctor, food, accommodation, counselling during the three-week seclusion period and the graduation ceremony.

Circumcision season

During the circumcision season, large churches circumcise up to 300 boys, raising an average of Sh3 million in just three weeks.

Churches that do not have accommodation rent dormitories in schools, where the boys are kept in seclusion while they are visited by a doctor and counselled mainly on good morals and the importance of education.

Some community-based organisations and individuals are also conducting mass circumcisions, threatening the business of traditional circumcisers who charge an average of Sh2,000, a goat and some traditional liquor per boy.

Those circumcised by traditional circumcisers spend their seclusion period at home and are usually looked after by their older male relatives, who also teach them good morals and the traditional practices of the community.

Traditional circumcisers accuse churches and other groups of violating cultural rules and community teachings during the cut, including allowing women into the seclusion rooms and even allowing female health workers to circumcise boys.

Mr Muthengi Kamwara, a traditional circumciser, believes his competitors are overstepping their social roles and using the cut as a cash cow.

"Circumcision is a cultural practice and should be left to traditional circumcisers provided they adhere to health standards," Mr Kamwara told Nation.Africa.

Expensive exercise

Mr Kimathi Rugera, an elder from Kibunga in Tharaka Constituency, believes that apart from the physical cut, circumcision is slowly losing its meaning because it no longer serves as a transition from childhood to adulthood.

"Those boys who are circumcised in hospitals and are either admitted to wards or school dormitories have no chance to hear from elders as it should be according to the traditions and culture of the Ameru people," said Mr Rugera.

In an attempt to control the exercise, the Tharaka Nithi County government has ordered that all group circumcisions be carried out in health facilities by qualified personnel.

In a statement signed by the county director of health services and sanitation, John Mbogo, the county claims that organisers of group circumcisions have failed to follow infection prevention and control guidelines, leading to complications.

"Last year, many complications were reported and most of them were due to sepsis," the statement read in part.

Mr Joseph Kimathi, a religious leader, believes the county government's directive will make the exercise expensive as they will have to pay for services at hospitals.

"Groups organising the circumcision will now increase the fees because they will have to pay for hospital services," Mr Kimathi said.

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