Reject Online Issue 94

ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

January 1- 31, 2014

ISSUE 094

A monthly newspaper by the Media Diversity Centre, a project of African Woman and Child Feature Service

Enjoying years of tobacco free environment Outlawing public smoking in the central business district helps make Nairobi a clean environment

By HENRY OWINO Non-smokers in Nairobi are celebrating their seventh year of fresh air since the anti-tobacco public places smoking law was passed and enforced.

Under the Tobacco Control Act, smoking in open public places was banned in the Central Business District (CBD) to the relief of the nonsmokers as a handful of designated spots were set aside for the chain smokers.

These included Uhuru Park, Jevanjee Gardens and a spot near the public toilet on Koinange Street, next to the General Post Office.

Danger

This was to protect non-smokers from getting infected from diseases related to tobacco through second-hand smoke which is believed

to be very dangerous.

It was later given more power by Tobacco Control Act, through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution and marketing of tobacco products to protect public health.

The Food and Drug Administration authority has been regulating tobacco and its products since June 2009 and has been quite successful todate.

Tobacco smoking and buying of cigarettes are banned to those below the age of 18.

Through this law, many Nairobi residents have been protected from tobacco related diseases and early deaths. Second hand or Passive smoking is the inhalation of smoke by persons other than the intended “active” smoker. It occurs when tobacco

Nairobi County has designated tobacco smoking zones and tobacco smoking free zones in order to protect non-smokers.

Pictures: Henry Owino

Continued on page 4

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ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Youth urged to be aggressive in uptake of devolved funds

By Yusuf Amin

especially our police officers to desist from arresting young people who Leaders from Kilifi County have meet for business discussions and launched an awareness campaign for other issues concerning them as Kethe youth on how they can benefit nyan youths,” Mwakidudu reiterated. from funds given by the government.

She added that despite the need to The leaders told the youth to take have a secure environment, there was advantage of the Uwezo Fund and need for police officers and other releother devolved funds to invest in real vant security organs to enquire about estate development. the groupings’ agenda before dispersFatma Mwakidudu, a community ing them whenever they meet.

Youths discussing issues that affect them including financial issues. They have been called upon to leader noted that despite Rabai area Ruruma ward representative, make use of the funds set up to empower them. Picture: George Ngesa having a conducive environment Naftali Kombo, expressed the need for investment opportunities, most to have the youth work closely with to boost projects that are done by organisation, the youth have been youth were forced to leave and look their leaders to help address their the day.

The move by the leaders comes youths at the county level. engaging themselves in drugs due to for decent housing away from home. challenges. He challenged the youth Mgoja added that most of the lack of employment. He expressed She noted that many youths are to be innovative in their life and use after most of the youth accused their focusing on white-collar jobs while their skills to start income generat- leaders of not engaging them in de- youths have been left behind due to concern that if no proper care and adlack of proper knowledge on how vice is given to youths, then the curvelopment activities. abandoning groups that could create ing activities.

Eric Karisa Mgoja, a human they can manage their businesses. rent generation is in danger and faces employment opportunities.

“There are mechanisms to emHe also pointed out that youths a bleak future in as far as development power the youth to use Uwezo Fund rights activist in Kilifi County asked and other devolved funds to invest. the residents to monitor closely how are aloof and avoid applying for is concerned.

“We cannot have a developed soci“The region lacks adequate hous- Use these funds to jump start busi- the Kilifi County government con- funds from financial institutions. He urged them to cooperate with their ety where youths are engaging themes to accommodate teachers and oth- nesses to improve your lives,” He said. ducts its development projects.

“Everyone in the community leaders on how best they can get selves in acts of violence and taking er government staff working in our Rabai Deputy Commissioner sub-county. It is high time you come Caroline Nzwili, urged locals to should be a watchdog of the County proper information on the institu- drugs rein terror on innocent people,” observed Otieno. He added: “We together and explored this opportu- maintain peace and report any sus- government so that we can be re- tions.

“We have a long time trend that must stand for the same course and nity,” Mwakidudu suggested. picious people to security forces. She lieved from the biting poverty that She urged the youth in the area to called on the youth to inform their has been the order of the day in this youths are unwilling applying for help our youths see the light. This will loans. This belief has been the major only be done through mobilization consider creating employment op- area leaders, including village elders, county,” Mgoja noted.

He called on the county govern- reason behind poverty and poor liv- and giving proper information about portunities adding that the increas- on their meetings’ agenda and ading number of investors in the area vised them to conduct them during ment to come up with special funds ing standards in our societies. This business setup and other ventures to should change,” he said. the youths.” had created a ready market.

Otieno was saddened by the fact Mwakidudu called on security that drug menace is to blame for the officers to allow young people and Mgoja was categorical that youths poor judgment of our youths on matwomen to work in groups to discuss have the manpower to set any develop- ters touching on their future life and and get mechanisms to access the ment agenda and make this country prospects. funds.

They promised to conduct civic prosper. He noted that lack of self-deShe observed that the youth fear termination was a big punch to these education to youth groups in the being arrested by security agencies whole county on how they can benachievements. when they converge for development According to Caleb Otieno, a efit from funds given by financial inmeetings.

— Caleb Otieno representative of Coast Sea Survival stitutions.

“I would like security agencies and

Accommodation

“We cannot have a developed society where youths are engaging themselves in acts of violence and taking drugs rein terror on innocent people.”

Development

Government’s cash transfer to benefit more people

By JACK JOSHUA At least 150,000 more households across the country are set to benefit from state cash transfer programmes for needy persons after the government moved to increase the funding to KSh12 billion.

“Funding to these programmes has increased tremendously over the years, with the Government providing an allocation of a cumulative amount of KSh12 billion in the current financial year,” said Kazungu Kambi Cabinet Secretary for Labour.

Speaking in Mombasa during a retreat to brief members of the Departmental Committee of Labour and Social Welfare on the cash transfer programmes, Kambi noted that funding of four programmes of Cash Transfer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, Older Persons Cash Transfer Programme, Cash Transfer Programme to Persons with Severe Disabilities, Ur-

ban Food Subsidy Programme, was set to increase enrolment to 384,294 households up from 237, 700 households.

He said the programme, now expanded to include persons with severe disabilities, and the urban poor subsidy; both started in 2010 have played a pivotal role in reducing poverty across the country.

Growth

“The transfers have contributed towards spurred growth in small businesses both in rural and urban areas”.

— Kazungu Kambi, Cabinet Secretary for Labour

“The programme has had a huge impact on the lives of the beneficiary households as it enables them to invest in domestic livestock which they could transform into cash during times they require healthcare and other basic services,” explained Kambi. He added: “It has also enabled them build the necessary social capital in their communities.”

He said that the funding has helped improve household food security, noting that the beneficiary households were now able to buy

food more easily as well as have access to regular and improved diet.

Kambi noted that the transfers have contributed towards spurred growth in small businesses both in rural and urban areas, adding, some beneficiaries have voluntarily exited from the programme once they felt that their economic status has improved.

The social assistance programme started in 2004, initially with the cash transfer to orphans and vulnerable children. Older persons programme was started in 2007.

The programme was started on a pilot basis by supporting 500 households with orphans in Garissa, Kwale and Nairobi, while the one to help older persons started off with 300 households in Thika, Nyando and Busia.

Kambi said his ministry had checks and criterion for enrolment that ensured only needy persons continued to benefit from the programme.

ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

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Narok school girl faces bleak future after double discrimination

By KABIA MATEGA The future of a female student in one of the country’s prestigious schools is bleak after the donor who pays her school fees allegedly pulled out under unclear circumstances.

Indeed, 15 year-old Nancy Tayiana Nguneri’s story is unique as it is a case of double discrimination. Tayiana fled from her parents in order to escape Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and now she is being accused of having undergone the Maasai traditional rites of passage behind the backs of those who had rescued her.

According to Tayiana, the donor has accused her of having been undergone the outlawed female circumcision during the December school holidays against the donor organisation’s policy on girls whom they support with education bursaries.

Accuse

However, Tayiana, a student of State House Girls’ High School has vehemently denied the accusation by the donor claiming that they were using FGM as a flimsy excuse to deny her educational support.

Amid sobs Tayiana says she was shocked to hear the reason the donor was using to suspend financial support despite their earlier strong com-

mitments when they took her to their rescue centre situated in Suswa area of Narok County in 2006.

“I challenge my donor to prove their allegation of the genital mutilation by ordering an independent medical check up to ascertain whether I am still intact or not,” said Tayiana. She added: “I know I am still intact unless they have mistaken me with another student.”

Speaking as tears rolled down her cheeks, Tayiana expressed fears that her dream of becoming an engineer was being frustrated. She appealed to well-wishers to come to her rescue.

“I challenge my donor to prove their allegation of the genital mutilation by ordering an independent medical check up to ascertain whether I am still intact or not.”

— Nancy Tayiana, a student of State House Girls School

Tayiana joined the Maasai Soila Girls’ Rescue Centre in Suswa after the managers got wind of her parents’ plans to marry her off.

“The manager of the rescue centre invaded my parents’ home in Sakutiek Village, Narok North District and drove me to the centre with promises that they will give all education support for as long as I worked hard and performed well in national examinations. This is what I have done,” she explained.

Rescue

Tayiana completed her primary school in 2012 and scored 362 marks out of possible 500 in KCPE. This meant that she was above the pass mark.

An orphan who has lost both her parents, Tayiana expressed frustration by the emerging developments between her and the sponsor.

The fees structure she presented to the donor before she was sent packing indicated that she needed to pay KSh45,080 for the first term.

Tayiana later visited the Narok County Children’s Department in the company of her stepmother Kilokunye Nkunyet to seek government intervention.

Before the children officer, and in full glare of the press cameras and recorders, she denied vehemently that she had been circumcised.

Nancy Tayiana, a student of State House Girls School and her step mother Kilokunye Nkunyet when they visited Narok County Children’s Department to seek government intervention. A donor who pays her school fees pulled out in unclear circumstance.

Picture: Kabia Matega.

She was taken to the Narok District Hospital where the truth of her FGM allegations was to be ascertained.

After hours of waiting for the doctor’s report, it emerged that she was intact and no physical injury on her private part despite the red flag raised by her sponsor.

According to the hospitals’ medical examination report, which The Reject has a copy of, the doctor indicated that no visible injuries on her private parts were noted, a clear indication that she had not been circumcised.

“No visible injuries, Labia intact, clitoris intact but of small stature and the conclusion no FGM done to the girl,” said the report signed and stamped by the Narok District Hospital superintendent.

However, according to Julius Ngoko, Children’s Officer in charge of Narok County, they have contacted the Centre to establish the reason why the girl was not getting the promised assistance and have received was contradicting information.

“They first confirmed that they had

actually sent her out of their institution because she had undergone FGM, but a day later they called and said they had ran out of cash to sponsor girls under their custody,” said Ngoko.

Her-step mother said the girl was depressed and had been crying throughout. She also sent a passionate appeal to well-wishers to chip in and help Tayiana with school fees.

“She spends most of her time crying at home. She looks traumatised.

She sometimes wakes up very early and starts walking on the road to nowhere. She has also been having nightmares. All she wants is to return to class,” said the elderly woman as she fought back tears.

Effort by The Reject to get the side of the story from Mary Macharia, officer in charge of the Girls’ Rescue Centre in Suswa were fruitless after the gate to the centre remained locked with guards instructed not to allow the press inside.

Macharia’s cellphone was switched off after many unanswered calls and finally wrote a text message that she was in a meeting.

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ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Tobacco farmers short-changed in the multi-million shilling industry

By HENRY OWINO Tobacco farmers in Migori County are having second thoughts whether to continue investing in the cash crop or opt out because of the challenges they are facing.

The irate farmers accuse leading tobacco firms in the area of underpaying them as well as releasing cheques late.

The three firms that operate in the area are Mastermind Kenya, British American Tobacco (BAT) and Alliance One. Among their grievances which led to a recent protest are; zoning of the area into different sectors to be owned by particular companies, and farmers in each zone are to sell their tobacco leaves to the company even if they did not like it.

Mastermind Tobacco Company was singled out as the worst in paying the wages. Farmers argued that Mastermind Company accepted delivery of tobacco leaves from the farmers but it took very long to pay up.

However, in a rejoinder, Joseph Wanguhu, Chief Executive Officer Kenya Tobacco Farmers Union Migori County, clarified that they had cleared all outstanding arrears.

Currently Migori County Assembly is in the process of passing a Bill on payments. The Bill proposes that all sold tobacco leaves must be paid to the farmers within a period of seven days.

The payment rates had been increased from an average of KSh171 to KSh223 starting on January 1, this year. However, despite Kenyan firms increasing payment rates, Tanzanian companies are still higher at KSh320 of the same tobacco grade and quantity.

In a bid to protect farmers from extortion and exploitation by tobacco companies, more tobacco Bills that will soon become law are being discussed in the Migori County Assembly.

Earlier, tobacco farmers in the county bitterly protested over Mastermind Tobacco Company for frustrating them and raised it with the County Governor, Zacchary Okoth Obado.

Challenge

They also accused Mastermind Tobacco Kenya Limited of turning to other countries (Tanzania) where their activities face little challenges, if any.

For instance, the highest paid farmer earns KSh220 per kilogramme of the best grade leaves, while the lowest gets only KSh80.

Yet farmers across the border in Tanzania are paid KSh300 per kilogramme for the same leaves grade in Kenya. The farmers now demand for an equal payment as in Tanzania.

They lamented that they had little to show for their sweat while tobacco firms smile on the way to the bank.

Meanwhile, Nelson Wahanga Mwita, Deputy Governor Migori County, accused the firms of exploiting contracted farmers.

“In most homes, residents are living in abject poverty. They also suffer from ailments. There is also the problem of addicted sniffers and snuffer who never part away from chewing raw tobacco, chain smokers and high levels school dropouts,” he noted.

Wahanga assured the irate farmers that the county government will stand by them and protect their interests.

A tobacco farm in Uriri, Migori County. Tobacco farmers in the County are demanding better pay for their hard work. Picture: Courtesy According to Tom Owiti, chairman of tobacco farmers in Uriri Constituency, they will push for their rights from the multinational tobacco firms.

Owiti said in tobacco growing zones, especially Uriri and Kuria West constituencies, where the cash crop is grown in large scale, farmers were unhappy with how they were being mistreated.

One of them, Tobias Chacha from Kuria West Constituency, is totally opposed to the zoning describing it as dictatorial and called for its scrapping immediately.

“Forcing farmers to sell their crop to specific firms at fixed low prices which are paid late is a sign of dictatorship,” said Chacha.

He recalled that Deputy Governor Wahanga had called Francis Kimani, Director General at Mastermind One for a meeting but the latter failed to turn up.

Instead, Kimani sent junior staff to represent him for the charged meeting.

Present at the meeting to listen to famers’ grievances were: Francis Mutinda of Mastermind; Major Sam Odera, Charles Mundia and Geoffrey Chege of BAT Kenya; Patrick Kimani, Eliud Papul, and Martin Masika from Alliance One. Moses Chamwada, chairman of

tobacco growers in Migori County, appealed to the county government to follow up on the pledges made.

“Many farmers are yet to pay school fees for their children due to lack of money, and yet they have worked hard and delivered several hundreds of kilos of tobacco leaves to the companies,” Chamwada said.

The Kenyan Government earns a lot of revenue from taxing tobacco companies every year and is thus a major beneficiary of the farmers’ sweat.

Campaign

Past and current trends in tobacco control have not been geared towards campaigning against smoking alone. Very little, if any, effort is directed at assessing the impact of tobacco growing on the farmers and the environment.

Many questions remain unanswered in regard to tobacco growing in the country and especially the health consequences. A lot of biomass is used in processing tobacco leaves. How safe is this practice to the environment?

How commensurate are tobacco earnings to the effort put in by farmers? And what are the health implications of tobacco growing on the farmers? These are very important questions that need to be answered

by a researcher.

Nevertheless, preliminary investigations reveal that tobacco farming is labour intensive involving almost an entire family, leaving no room for growing of food crops.

In Uriri, an important tobacco growing zone in Migori County apart from Kuria, farmers depend heavily on tobacco and do not envisage any alternative income generating activities at the moment.

Currently, major tobacco processing companies in Migori County have not paid farmers for tobacco delivered for months.

Uriri, generally, like most tobacco growing zones in Kenya, is endowed with fertile land, adequate and consistent rainfall and, therefore, supports most food and cash crops.

Cane do well in the region, the main drawback is lack of other firms to give South Nyanza Sugar Company a run for its money.

Time has come for the national and county governments to come to the rescue of tobacco farmers who feel abandoned in their hour of need by the authorities.

Migori farmers are now turning to their respective Members of Parliament in the tobacco-growing zones, to take up the matter with the Ministry of Agriculture and Labour.

Outlawing public smoking has helped make Nairobi a clean environment Continued from page 1 smoke permeates any environment, causing its inhalation by people within that environment.

Exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke causes disease, disability and death.

However, restaurants, hotels and pubs have reserved smoking areas for customers. This is unlike the old days when smokers could puff off in the public in bus stops, public toilets and transport as well as salons among other premises.

Caution

Some of the diseases caused by smoking are labelled on the cigarette packets as a precaution.

For example, mouth and lung cancer, heart disease as well as teeth decay are among other complicated diseases.

According to Robert Muzungu, a retailer at the central business district next to Tele-Posta Towers cigarette smokers have reduced for fear of the Tobacco Act. However, he admits it is the fastest selling commodity in the streets of the city that has

a population of million residents. Others are condoms and mobile phone air time scratch cards.

He notes: “Most smokers prefer to buy one or two sticks of cigarettes in the streets instead of a whole packet of 20 due to the high cost.”

Muzungu adds: “Kenyans are facing difficult times and some people have stopped smoking tobacco completely.”

Muzungu sells different brands of cigarettes but the most expensive one is Embassy which goes for KSh7.50 per stick or KSh150 per packet “Apart from selling cigarettes, I also sell many small items that my customers buy in small quantities but on a regular basis,” explains Muzungu.

According to Muzungu smoking is a matter of choice. No one is forced to smoke because it kills but there is pleasure in it that once you are in it, leaving is not easy, it is addictive.

The consistent smoke inside the smoking zone has made him suffer from lung and eye related problems. He suffers from on and off chest pains and has difficulty in breathing.

“I spend most of my time inside this building inhaling all the smoke puffed by the customers. I stay here the whole day in this smoke from 8am to 5pm daily except on Sundays. If I had a better job to do, I would have gone for it,” he says regrettably.

Muzungu admits that tobacco and its products cause diseases but it is a business like any other as long he makes profit out it. He is assured of daily bread for his family at the end of the day.

Scarcity

Patrick Mutiso, who is a smoker, complains that there are few smoking zones in the central business district and more need to be identified.

Mutiso confesses that he knows the dangers of smoking but quitting has been a big problem.

Self-discipline is important, he says.

“In my estate and house, I rarely smoke because of the rules the landlord put for the tenants but once I am in town, I make sure I pay

back,” says Mutiso. He adds: “I smoke moderately like 10 sticks of cigarettes a day and this costs me KSh50 on the higher side because friends also promote friends.”

Mutiso wants law governing smoking in open public places in Nairobi County especially the central business district to be lifted. This is because he feels that there are few smoking zones. He admits that sometimes people are forced to hide in restricted public places just to smoke and kill the urge.

“Let me admit that I have smoked in those hidden places not designated for smoking because smoking centre close to our offices is ever packed to capacity,” Mutiso explains.

Nairobi County government deserves credit for enforcing the Tobacco Control Act 2007 in the central business district to protect the interests of non-smokers.

The Act also outlawed advertisement for tobacco and its products so they no longer profit media houses. The companies can carry out corporate social responsibility but without any form of outdoor billboards.

ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

5

Kenya set to establish underwater museum

By ROBERT NYAGAH An ambitious multi-million shillings project to be located off the Ngomeni coastline in Kilifi County, where a shipwreck yielded artefacts that were unearthed recently is about to start.

The project will be funded by the Chinese Government jointly with the National Museums of Kenya.

In this project, the country is about to establish the first underwater museum to specifically conserve and display underwater cultural resources.

The announcement came shortly when the National Museums of Kenya together with the Chinese experts displayed for the first time in public the artefacts recovered from the bed of the Indian Ocean, off the Malindi coast.

During that function, Dr. Hassan Wario Cabinet Secretary Culture, Sports and the Arts said that the proposed museum would be established in the Indian Ocean where the shipwreck was unearthed.

The plan for the museum is climax of the discovery and collection of various artefacts among them those unearthed from two shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean waters of Malindi and Lamu.

Archaeologists displayed the various items which included lead metals, copper ingots, Chinese ceramic and pottery, strip and plates for ship building and coagulated concrete artefacts.

Wario noted that the National Museums of Kenya has already started a process of gazzettement of the Ngomeni shipwreck site to ensure its protection.

Kenya boasts of having its first ever professional under-water archaeologists through a partnership with the Government of China.

Within the past three years, the Kenyan archaeologists have gained professional training from Chinese archaeologists diving deep into the waters of the Indian Ocean and accessing

shipwrecks with the yet to be identified treasures.

For the past two years, Caesar Bita and Philip Wanyama have spent their working hours diving deep into the Kenyan waters off the Indian Ocean in Malindi, Lamu and Mombasa choosing sites and marking them for excavation.

They have also gone further to excavate and carefully discover and collect important samples from various sections within the sea bed.

Archaeological research

Through the partnership with the Chinese, Kenya Government through the National Museums of Kenya can today boast of procuring high sophisticated and expensive underwater archaeology equipment.

Wario was addressing Kenyan and Chinese archaeologists at the Karibuni Villas Hotel in Magarini District, Kilifi County at the end of a three year KSh200 million archaeological project sponsored by the Chinese government.

“The Government of China successfully assisted Kenya train its first ever underwater archaeologists, Caesar Bita and Philip Wanyama, and also to procure underwater archaeology equipment,” Wario said.

He lauded China for helping to elevate Kenya’s position in the field of professional archaeology.

Underwater archaeology is a relatively new and expensive undertaking in Africa and Kenya’s partnership with China placed it ahead of many African states in this area of specialisation.

Wario said Kenya was pursuing additional partnerships with China in the field of underwater archaeology and the just ended project, christened ‘Sino-Kenya Underwater Archaeology Project’ may be extended for another three years and attract similar funding.

The main aim of the project was to carry out archaeological research

Kenyan and Chinese archeologists busy at an archeological site under excavation at the compound of the Malindi Museum. Pictures: Robert Nyagah both on land and underwater in order to ascertain ancient Chinese presence along the Coast of Kenya.

The Ngomeni shipwreck will be conserved after studies of the artefacts are completed in Kenya and at the Peking University Archaeology and Museology in China.

“The Ngomeni shipwreck is believed to be Portuguese in origin although further excavations will authenticate that hypothesis,” noted Wario.

With only a quarter of the shipwreck excavated, more time and resources are required to excavate the shipwreck which was buried deep in the base of the Indian Ocean waters.

According to Wario terrestrial archaeology has opened up new thinking in archaeological research and Kenya is keen to expand its programmes to discover more from the waters of the Indian Ocean.

He noted that with the recovery

of a Chinese coin during excavations in Mambrui area of the Kilifi County in 2010, the “prehistory of the region has been found to backdate to metallurgical period”.

Excavations in Malindi town, outside the Malindi chief ’s office also opened new insights into the habitation of the town.

Ruined settlement

“The ruined settlement recovered behind the Malindi Museum demonstrated that Malindi town economically strived prior to the arrival of the Portuguese and Chinese,” Wario said.

The Chinese embassy spokesperson Shifan Wu noted that Kenya and China would continue to strengthen cultural and historical links through formation of a team of experts to trace historical connections between the two countries.

Wu said the friendship between

the two states started more than 600 years ago when Chinese navigator, Zheng He visited the Kenyan coast in one of the largest ships then.

It is believed that some of the Zheng He sailors were involved in a shipwreck off the Kenyan Coast with survivors remaining in Kenya and inter-marrying to create an African-Chinese community whose descendants are scattered within the Lamu islands.

According to Wu, one of the descendants of the Chinese sailors, Mwamaka Sharifu Lali, was offered a Chinese government scholarship to study traditional medicine at the Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has since qualified to become a doctor.

She is currently undertaking internship at the Nanjing Municipal Hospital in China and is expected to return to Kenya and start practicing the medicine later.

Hoteliers team up to improve security

By ROBERT NYAGAH Over 400 beach operators in Kilifi County are working together have come together in a bid to improve security to protect and woo more tourists.

Under the programme bringing together five representative entities which carry out tourism related business at the beach, the hotels have hired five monitors from each group to streamline all operations and enforce discipline under rules set by beach operators and hotels.

This in comes in the wake of harassment and security concerns which have been identified as reasons why many foreign tourists are diverting to Zanzibar.

The hoteliers now caution that unless harassment at the shoreline and streets of some resorts is stopped, the region and country at large could continue to losing tourists to neighbouring countries.

According to Guido Bertoni, a hotelier in Watamu, stakeholders should unite and restructure tourism operations by incorporating beach operators who are to blame for harassment of the visitors.

“Hoteliers and tour operators need to incorporate beach operators and other stakeholders in restructuring tourism business to avoid continued harassment of the visitors,” noted Bertoni, who is the chairman of the Garoda Beach Resorts in Watamu area of the Kilifi County.

He asked hoteliers and other stakeholders to come up with strategies to manage the beach as zones for leisure and help eradicate the harassment which has earned Kenyan shorelines a bad name.

Address

Bertoni was addressing guests at Garoda Resort during the launch of a programme by the hotel’s management to streamline operations along Watamu beaches and improve safety for tourists.

The monitors will be provided with uniform and Garoda Hotel identification badges.

The programme was launched three months ago and covers the Garoda beach. Plans are underway to expand it to other hotels in Watamu area.

“We hope that this programme will eventually be adopted in all

beaches in Kilifi County, a move that will make them safe and peaceful for tourists,” noted Bertoni.

Terming Watamu beaches as some of the best in the Africa and the World at large, Bertoni reiterated that they had the potential to attract tourist bookings throughout the year. He blamed harassment and insults as the reason why the region has never been able to reap the benefits of repeat tourists.

“Leading holiday world monitoring organisations and media houses led by the CNN have singled out Watamu beach as third and eighth ranked shorelines in Africa and across the whole world respectively,” explained Bertoni.

As an investor in the hotel industry, Bertoni has opened and managed holiday resorts in almost all Indian Ocean islands including Seychelles and Mauritius. He describes the Watamu beach as a “goldmine” with a huge potential for tourist arrivals, which needed to be protected to continue attracting bigger numbers of tourists from across the world.

Uncontrolled involvement of groups of people in trade at the

beach, has led to formation of illegal gangs which have been extorting money from tourists and tour leaders, threatening them with harm should they not cooperate.

“Two weeks ago a group of eight tourists from our hotel who were walking along the beach with our tour leader and were forced to return to the hotel prematurely after the gang demanded KSh500 for each tourist in the group before they could be allowed to continue with their excursion,” Bertoni revealed.

Eradicate

He added: “We may be offering the best hotels and the best beaches, but without safety, all will go to waste.”

Bertoni’s sentiments were echoed

by Justin Kitsao, chairman Watamu Tour Leaders Association, who noted that beach operators were also keen to see business operations streamlined and harassment of the tourists eradicated.

He lauded the management of Garoda Resort for pioneering what he termed as “one of the best partnerships between beach operators and an hotelier in Kilifi County”.

“We want to participate in campaigns to stop harassment of tourists, we know that tourism is the pillar of this region’s economy and its positive management through self-regulation is key to its success,” reiterated Kitsao.

He said that while it was true that hoteliers, Ministry of Tourism, Kenya Wildlife Services and Tourist Police Unit had the responsibility of protecting tourists, beach operators were in a more challenging position as direct handlers and beneficiaries of the industry.

“As the direct beneficiaries of tourists, it is our responsibility to protect them and ensure that they are able to enjoy their holiday without harassment,” stressed Kitsao.

Through the new programme, beach operators will also expand their beach clean-up campaigns and create awareness on discouraging children from loitering and begging from tourists along the beaches. ”Children who beg from tourists as they leisure at the beach and along the streets of Watamu are a big nuisance and embarrassment to Kenyans and the visitors,” Kitsao said.

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ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Stigma remains a reality in fight against HIV and AIDs

Church brings health services closer to the people

By HENRY KAHARA According to the Constitution of Kenya 2010, the main aim of devolution is to bring services closer to people.

However, almost three and a half years since the Constitution was promulgated, the impact of devolution is yet to be felt at the grassroots level.

This has left many living in rural areas and within informal settlements in urban centres to look for options that will enable them solve problems facing them. One such people are to be found in Ngecha, Kikuyu constituency, Kiambu County.

For many years Ngecha people have been forced to walk for more than 10 kilometres to access health care facilities. The nearest of such inevitable requirement were either in Tigoni in Limuru or at the Kikuyu Hospital.

However, that is now a thing of the past as Ngecha people can afford a smile since they can comfortably access health services at their doorstep courtesy of Ngecha Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) in collaboration with Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).

Speaking during the official opening of the KSh4.5 million health centre Joel Mburu, chairman PCEA Ngecha Development Committee said this is the path to follow.

“We cannot wait for the Government to do everything for us. We need to start doing something and the Government together with well-wishers will come in to support us along the way,” he said.

“We started constructing this health centre in 2011, but our plan was to build it in phases. Today we are opening phase one which started with a fundraiser organised by the church. A long the way, Kenya Commercial Bank came on board to our aid in furtherance to the theme, caring for the community,” Mburu said.

Giving out services

By HENRY KAHARA Stigmatization remains one of the major setbacks hindering war against HIV and AIDs. Many people have decided to keep quiet once they realise they are infected rather than speak about it and face hostility from colleagues, friends, family members and community at a large.

Roselyn Obonyo notes that people who are living with HIV have not only been neglected by the community but also those with who they share the status.

“My husband is the one who infected me but when I broke the news to him, he just packed and left me completely,” says Obonyo, a mother of one.

Obonyo found out of her status five years ago when attending antenatal clinic before giving birth to her son who is negative as she was delivered through Caesarean Section.

“My relatives do not even come to my house. The people who used to be my friends before have turned to be my enemies,” says Obonyo who lives in the sprawling slum of Mathare in Nairobi.

“I cannot even remember the last time a stranger entered my house,” she says.

Lonely

The only person she is used to in that house is her dear son who she says is a blessing because he helps her to fight loneliness.

“I praise God because of my son for at least I get somebody to speak to,” she says.

According to Obonyo all this trouble was brought in her way by the quench to live a good life.

“Before I got sick, I used to work in Eastleigh at Garissa Lodge and I used to earn enough money. This was before I met my late husband who promised me heaven,” she narrates.

It was after staying with the man who she terms as “a player” when she learnt that she was pregnant. “We were staying

Despite many efforts by activists to end stigma against HIV and AIDs, people living positively still experience the effects of stigmatisation.

Picture: Reject correspondent together but we had not agreed to get a baby. So, I realized I was positive when I started attending clinic,” explains Obonyo.

Denial

For long she lived in denial but with the help of nuns from St Vincent Eastleigh Eastern Deanery who counselled her, she accepted her situation and admits that she is a live today because she accepted her status.

“Me and my son would not be alive today if I did not accept my status,” she confesses.

Despite the fact that Obonyo has been repelled by the friends, family members and the community, she has accepted herself and maintains that it has to start at that point.

“You have to accept yourself first,” she reiterates, adding, “my husband died in 2009 for he neither accepted himself nor did he live a responsible life upon realizing his status”.

By 2009 it was estimated that around 1.5 to two million people were living positively with HIV and AIDs in Kenya. However, even though it is over thirty years since the first HIV and AIDs case was detected in Kenya in 1984, it seems that the society is yet to accept the fact that it is not an airborne disease.

“The society is yet to embrace people who are living with HIV and AIDs despite the fact that some got infected accidentally,” notes Obonyo.

Furthermore she narrates how opportunities have slipped out of her hands for the fact that she is positive.

“I sometimes go for interviews, I have what it takes but just because I am positive the chance just goes away,” she adds giving an example of how she was in an interview with a major security firm in 2012 but she

could not get the job all because of her status.

Obonyo is not alone. Keziah Wanjiku is living with HIV but cannot reveal this to her family.

Wanjiku who lives in Kawangware, another slum within Nairobi says she has two sisters who are living with HIV who got negative reception when they told their mother about their status.

“I have two sisters who revealed their status but my mum is disappointed with them. Actually she is proud of me just because she thinks I am negative,” Wanjiku explains.

For now, Wanjiku has decided to keep this a secret to herself until the time when she will feel that it is okay for her to break the news.

Attitude

According to Regina Obam, head of strategy at the National Aids Control Council people should change their attitude in order for battle against HIV and Aids to be won.

“We have to accept people who are infected with HIV. They are our brothers and sisters and we need to take care of them as well as show them love,” she advices.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon once said: “Stigma remains the single most important barrier to public action.

It is a main reason why too many people are afraid to see a doctor to determine whether they have the disease, or to seek treatment if so. It helps make AIDs the silent killer, because people fear the social disgrace of speaking about it, or taking easily available precautions. Stigma is a chief reason why the AIDs epidemic continues to devastate societies around the world.”

Already Ngecha residents are enjoying the fruits of their hard work since the hospital is giving out services by treating at least 20 people per day.

For now the community is looking forward to build phase two which will have a maternity wing and provision of medical equipment such as sterilizer, auto crave, physical therapy equipment and dental chair.

According to Jane Kimingi, KCB Manager Limuru branch the bank is partnering with community in order to increase quality of health services to the less privileged.

“Although the Government is working with county governments to improve health care, companies should help to realise this dream. Statistics show that 40 per cent of health care services have been made possible by the church. We, therefore, need to support such projects,” noted Kimingi.

Sixty-year-old Daniel Ndungu Kimani, noted that “this is a blessing to the community. I remember the time when we were young our parents could walk up to Kikuyu for health services. The scenario was not better even when we were bringing up our own children because we could walk for kilometres to Tigoni to look for health services. We had to stand in long queues. The services were also expensive” The PCEA Ngecha Parish Health Centre is the cheapest in the area compared to neighbouring private hospitals.

Kimani notes that health is very important for the development of any community and hence the need to give it a priority.

“You young people are very lucky. Take care of it because it is your project,” reiterated Kimani, urging the community to restrain from playing politics with the project.

“There is always politics which comes with development. I urge the community to restrain from such because it will only pull us behind,” he noted.

For now the hospital is planning to have sponsored medical camps in the area.

“Currently the health centre is carrying out general laboratory tests, vaccination and family planning,” said Solomon Wazome, a nurse at the health centre.

The main aim of this health facility is to ensure realisation of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) four and five that seek to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health respectively.

Churches in Kenya have played a big role in providing people with health services. The health centre will serve a population of more than 55,000 people who reside in Ngecha Ward.

ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

7

Mysterious maize disease hits Bomet . . . but farmers diversify to wilderness crops

By EDWIN KIPROTICH On the onset of short rains between November and January, farmers in South rift have always planted maize which is their staple food crop.

It is a practice that has existed for ages until two years ago when a strange maize disease landed in the area and dimmed the farmers’ fortunes.

The disease only identified as lethal necrosis disease, still baffles agricultural scientists to date and its diagnosis remains shrouded in mystery.

However, the disease has been a blessing in disguise for some families in the region who have engaged in mixed farming.

For instance, Augustine Kosonei, a farmer at Mariango Village in Bomet County has diversified into sweet potato farming. He does the farming confidently despite stereotype that sweet potato is a ‘woman’s crop’. He says the crop is one of the latest delicacies he has added to the family menu.

This is one among a variety of short seasoned crops that he is cultivating on his two acre farm, which in the past years was predominantly under maize.

A year before, his granary was full of maize cobs now it is practically empty, but Kosonei says that his family is not famished, instead it is now feeding on variety of foods like baked bread, sweet potatoes and mixed maize and beans (githeri).

As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, the maize disaster became a wakeup call for many families in the region who had focused only on ugali, which is made from maize flour as their staple food.

“Ugali is a kind of addiction, you cannot serve githeri or wali (cooked rice) to a Kipsigis man for supper and you expect him to take you seriously. For us, this was perceived as an appetizer as you wait for the real meal — ugali served with mursik (sour milk). We, therefore, see famine as lack of ugali in the diet,” explains Kosonei.

He adds: “But after we helplessly

watched the maize crop rot in our farms and the Government was dragging its feet, we realised that we had to diversify our meals.”

Consume

Ideally, judging by the state of his granary, Kosonei could be telling his friends how his children ‘slept on empty stomachs’ whenever they met at the shopping centre.

“Thanks to the rains that have been pounding the area, the disease has liberated the farmers and made them realise that they too can be both producers and consumers of other crops like beans, wheat, sweet potatoes and even bananas,” explains Stephen Mutai, an agriculturalist and largescale farmer.

Mutai lost over 10 acres of his crop to the disease.

He says that at the times his life was at a verge of collapse as he depended on the farm both for domestic use and for commercial purposes.

He says that efforts by farmers to petition the Government to compensate them have been futile. ‘’We had experienced a total crop failure but no one seemed to take us seriously. Information from different agricultural actors was contradicting.

Our local leaders also failed to show farmers direction and began adding political overtones to the already grave matter,’’ he says.

A former officer with the Ministry of Agriculture, Mutai decided to suspend maize farming and settled on beans and potatoes. A visit by Reject team to his farm at Kipsarwet in Bomet County revealed the success of other crops like beans, potatoes and cow peas where maize once triumphed. His farm is often used by the locals as a demonstration plot.

“After just three months I harvested seven bags of beans in a section of

“After just three months I harvested seven bags of beans in a section of the farm and 50 bags of potatoes on another section. The proceeds from the produce were able to cushion me from the losses I had experienced from the maize failure.”

— Stephen Mutai

A maize farm infected by Lethal Necrosis Disease. Bomet farmers have replaced maize farming with other food crops.

Picture: Kenya Seeds Company. the farm and 50 bags of potatoes on another section. The proceeds from the produce were able to cushion me from the losses I had experienced from the maize failure,” he says.

Diversify

Other farmers living in Bomet County have also diversified to other crops like finger millet and green bananas. David Tuei, a farmer living at Kimuchul location told Reject that he had never realised the full potential of his farm before the maize bug.

“After I lost two acres of the crop to the disease, my wife and I reluctantly sowed finger millet and wheat as we waited for the authorities to provide direction,” says Tuei. He adds: “We were, however, overwhelmed by the bumper harvest of these ‘wilder-

ness’ crops. We have decided that we will now be sowing these crops interchangeably.’’

The availability of a variety of crops has not only curbed hunger in the region but also helped to stabilise the price of maize in the markets which had threatened to sky rocket.

Farmers have also learnt a hard lesson that they cannot always depend on solutions from the Government to solve their problems. Farmers interviewed by The Reject said that they have been waiting for a way forward from the government over the disease but it is not forthcoming.

What also unsettles farmers is that the region being one of the country’s grain basket, persistence of the maize disease would destabilize the country’s grain reserve.

Experts predict that famine is around the corner

By HENRY KAHARA Famine may strike the better part of Kenya this year due to the low harvest experienced last year. This makes it hard for the Government to fulfil the Millennium Development Goal number one that seeks to eradicate extreme hunger.

According to a report prepared by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in collaboration with the national and county governments, this is as a result of low, late and poorly distributed rainfall in the many parts of the country.

The assessment report aimed at ensuring national food security and provision of timely Early Warning information was conducted in seasonal crop, livestock and fish production covering both the low potential — arid and semi-arid lands

and high and medium potential areas.

The 2013 monthly food situation information indicate that apart from Nyanza, Western and North Rift, most regions covering the high medium potential areas received late, poorly distributed rains during the long rains. Moreover, in many parts of Nyanza and Western regions, the onset of long rains was characterised by too much rain (flash floods) that affected crop production.

On the other hand, the rains also ceased earlier than usual, leading to poor production of crops in the affected regions. Overall, the 2013 long rains crop farming in the high medium potential areas was affected by late land preparation and planting as well as delayed supply of subsidized fertilizer.

Despite the forecasted low crop production during 2013 long rains compared to 2012, performance of livestock and fish farming in the high medium potential areas has not been widely affected. In addition, the price of most staples has been stable, except that of milk and some livestock products due to increase in the cost of animal feeds associated with recent VAT Bill.

Increased prices

Mid last year, the price of a packet of milk rose to an average of KSh50 for a 500ml packet up from KSh35 as milk processors explained they have been forced to increase the prices due to the rise in VAT. The prices went up by an average KSh15 for a half-litre packet, hitting low-income households hardest.

Cross border trade of major sta-

ples was generally low compared to the same period in 2012. It is thus expected that a number of factors have been responsible for the drop in grain production. This shortfall is estimated to be about 10 million bags.

The onset of the long rains in the high rainfall areas was timely in the month of March in most of the areas. However, temporal distribution was poor as a number of areas experienced very high amounts in the month of April and May resulting in flash floods and followed by a dry spell in the month of June and July when the crop required moisture for maturity.

The long rains in the high and medium rainfall areas had a varying performance in different zones. The report indicates that rains can could have performed averagely but with characteristic heavy rains at the be-

ginning and followed by a dry spell in between. Central and Eastern regions received lower rains. The net effect of poor rainfall distribution was a slight drop in the yield especially for maize and beans.

There was, however, improved production of rice, wheat and other food crops such as roots, and tubers.

The current short rains has been characterised by late onset and is likely to cease much earlier according to forecast by the Meteorological Department. Overall, low performance of crop production is expected from 2013 compared to the 2012 season.

The overall stock available is good and able to carry the country to May 2014. Households have sufficient stocks in most areas except few counties where production was hampered by flooding, maize disease and low use of fertilizers.

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ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

When a marriage does not survive rape

Not every relationship survives rape, even worse is that experts in sexual and reproductive health and rights now say that fewer spouses are willing to support a partner who is coming to terms with rape. As a result, most survivors of sexual violence are forced into silence to save their relationships, writes Joyce Chimbi Her husband worked in Mombasa leaving her behind with a daughter, on the day her life took a turn for the worst. Ruth Atieno* had decided to go visit her mother-in-law who lives in Nakuru.

“It was about 7.30 in the evening and not too late for me to walk to my mother-in-law’s home,” she says.

The fact that there were other people on the road at that hour gave her even more confidence. “In front of me there were two men and also behind, but there were other people scattered along the way so I felt very safe,” Atieno explains.

Everything felt okay until someone grabbed her from behind, pulled her to a graveyard where she was gang raped for hours. When it was over, she continued with her journey, her clothes torn and soiled.

Empathy

“What shocked me the most is that something so bad had happened to me while people where walking along the road. I realised you can even be killed with people walking a few metres from

you,” says Atieno.

“I debated whether to tell my mother-in-law what had happened, already I was one month pregnant with my husband’s baby. I decided to tell her and she was very supportive.

We reported the incident to the police and I received medical attention from the Family Care Medical Centre in Nakuru,” Atieno explains.

However, Atieno’s husband was not as understanding and this tragic event marked the end of their 22 year marriage. He left Atieno behind to with two daughters as he pursed his dreams elsewhere.

“Life has been very difficult for us. I struggle to put food on the table, cloth the girls and provide them with all their basic needs,” she says.

Even with the medical attention and counselling that she received Atieno says that the trauma of what happened still lingers.

“I worry about my girls. I fear men and I am yet to fully recover,” she says.

“Although my mother-in-law was willing to support us the best way she could, it created a rift with her son so I

opted to cut off links.”

Unfortunately volunteers and community health workers in the area of sexual and gender based violence such as Nellie Ledama say most marriages or even relationships hardly survive rape.

“Yet this is the time when a survivor requires all the help she can get.

However, we continue to work with the community to create even more awareness around sexual and gender based violence,” says Ledama who is a volunteer with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) working with Family Care Medical Centre in Nakuru.

Support

The centre that has become a safe refuge for survivors of sexual and gender based violence.

According to Alice Njeri, another volunteer at the medical centre “the goal is to get to zero rape cases. But even as we get there, the community must create structures that can help a survivor heal”.

Njeri notes that ending a marriage

Margaret Wairimu, a survivor of sexual violence. For many like her, the support of close family members is key to the healing process. Photo Joyce Chimbi or a relationship on account that a spouse has been raped “further complicates the situation”.

Atieno is yet to come to terms with the rape, her failed marriage and being the mother and father to her daughters.

“I never imagined that in just a matter of hours I could become a single mother. I was secure in my marriage and life was easier then because I had someone to help me raise

my children. Now I must deal with the aftermath of an incident that I never ask for.”

She appeals to the community to be more supportive of rape survivors.

“It can happen to anyone. The family must be at the forefront to help those affected survive and recover from the pain — physical and emotional — as fast as possible.”

For now, Atieno, like many in her predicament, takes one day at a time.

Medical centre offers hope for rape survivors with the medical providers.

Having received the much needed support from the health centre, Maingi found that she had even more problems than she could handle “my older son blamed his brother for the rape. In fact he went to the school where John was studying, dragged him out and gave him a thorough beating, people had to intervene. The division amongst my children was very difficult to endure”.

By JOYCE CHIMBI It begun like the usual sibling squabble but it quickly turned ugly. After a physical brawl, John* decided to report his sister to the police station for the alleged abuse. It was in the early hours of the evening. Jane Maingi*, their mother, decided to pursue John so that what she considered a small misunderstanding between her children would not get out hand.

But on her way to the police station, she had to go through a deserted open field, and that is where the unthinkable happened.

“A man grabbed me from behind, threw me to the ground and proceeded to rape me. It was a very shocking turn of events and it all happened very quickly,” explains Maingi who is a single mother.

After the man had raped her, she heard John shouting and was worried that the same man might do the unthinkable to the boy, even sodomise him.

Ordeal

“I began shouting and people heard me and came to our rescue.

When we went to the police station, I found that my son had already reported his sister to the police and he had been given an occurrence book (OB) number. However, the police said that the sibling squabble was nothing and my case was more important,” she explains.

While reporting to the police was easy, the road to justice was much harder than even she could have imagined.

Safety

While this incident is unfortunate, it is nonetheless one of many that occur in various parts of Nakuru. “I would say that sexual and gender based violence is on the increase. It is difficult to determine the causes but unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse among youths as well as the rise in boda boda cyclist riders have sigRegional Director of IPPF Africa, Mr Lucien Kouassi Kouakou leads participants during a medical nificantly contributed,” explains Meoutreach program by member association the Family Health Options of Kenya whose clinics have thusela Ocharo, a clinical officer and become a safe net for rape survivors. Photo Joyce Chimbi medical manager at the Family Care Medical Centre.

“I was asked to produce a witness, medical attention from Family Care those in need.

Indeed a significant number of Even more important, is the fact women, in a bid to get home safely someone who could have witnessed Medical Centre in Nakuru.”

The clinic has become a sexual that the centre works with a network have found themselves in very trauthe rape, surely how could I? After a while I stopped following up the case,” and gender based recovery centre for of volunteers who link those in the matizing situations. When Chebet* says Maingi. She adds: “The good rape survivors, providing a timely and community who would otherwise not discovered that she was pregnant, she thing is that I had already received comprehensive medical response to know how to handle sexual violence, decided to come to Nakuru to notify her boyfriend. Since it was getting late and the place where she was heading not too safe at night, she decided to take a boda boda in order to get home safely. “But I noticed that the rider was not going to the direction I intended, upon questioning him, he only increased the speed,” says Chebet.

“At the police stations they use very abusive language, in my case they said that I am one of those prostitutes operating in Nakuru.

They even ask you, are you a child to be raped? They blame the survivor while the perpetrator goes free.”

— Ruth Atieno, a rape survivor and mother of two

Continued on page 9

ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

9

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Fathers urged to join in the campaigns against violence

By HENRY KAHARA Cases of gender based violence will continue to rise in the country unless more men are involved in the campaigns to fight the vice.

The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey indicate that 83 per cent of Kenyan women and girls report one or more episodes of physical abuse in their lifetime.

In an exclusive interview, Pastor Simon Mbevi from Mavuno Church, says that the Kenya government needs to look for new ways of fighting gender based violence following the recent rise in the number of cases.

Mbevi says that although there are various avenues to fight gender based violence, dealing with a male child is the simplest and easiest way to win the battle.

“For a long time we have talked about protecting the girl-child and woman from the aggressor. It’s now time to deal with men,” notes Mbevi.

It has been reported that over 90 per cent of GBV cases are perpetuated by the male — either as a boy or a grown-up man.

“This is a national disaster in our country and the Government must to address this issue seriously,” says Mbevi.

“We need to have a National Commission on Fatherhood. A commission that will bring a nationwide dialogue about fatherhood and I believe we will solve 70 per cent of the problem,” reiterates Mbevi.

Pastor Simon Mbevi, Director , Transform Kenya.

Absent fathers

He attributes the absent fatherfigure in many homes as one of the main causes of the problem.

“According to a survey we conducted recently, only 10 percent of Kenyans say they have good fathers.

Un-fathered, under-fathered or missfathered well describes the state of the majority,” notes Mbevi.

He says that fatherhood is key to the transfer of manhood and values from one generation to the other. Fathers have turned to be absent, abusive, passive, misbehaved, harsh and controlling. There are many more boys being raised in single-parent homes today than ever. The high rate of divorce, separation and reality of blended families have complicated socialisation and exposed more to abuse.

“Men need to have a place where they can openly talk freely on men issues. These are emotional issues.

Many men are wounded because of the fatherhood absenteeism. Many young boys do not have men they can talk to while growing up, unlike girls who are very close to their mothers, ants and elder sisters.”

A father and son join in a demonstration held recently in a campaign against Sexual and Gender Based Violence in Nairobi streets. Picture: Carolyne Oyugi He blames many men of shying away from their roles and responsibilities and spending more time in pubs and night clubs.

It is not a wonder for some women to refer to men as beasts; they do not see anything good about them. But, if men can get the real definition of the word men and the value of men, he is such an admirable creature.

A father’s active presence plays a big role in socialising boys into responsible manhood and protecting girls from wayward masculinity. Fathers are meant to protect their children, especially the girls, from abuse.

But un-fathered masculinity becomes a danger to femininity.

Failure of a man in his highest office, as a responsible father, is cause of untold suffering and inexcusable abuse. Fatherhood failure has a direct proportion to almost every socio-political and economic issue “Real men take initiative, they live

responsibly — the choices they make, they lead sacrificially, love faithfully and they leave a legacy,” he explains.

Real men have values they are always present, they provide (food, give direction), protect, they are priests and prophets of their families,” he insists.

David Blankenhorn, in his book Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem, states: “In short, the key for men is to be fathers. The key for children is to have fathers. The key for society is to create fathers.”

For society, the primary results of fatherhood are right-doing males and better outcomes for children. Conversely, the primary consequences of fatherlessness are rising male-violence and declining child well-being.”

Furthermore, Mbevi says that culture change has widely contributed to the rise of gender based violence but he is quick to note that it is not sup-

posed to be an excuse.

“Culture has changed leaving us behind but we (men) need to move with time,” Mbevi reiterates.

Challenge

“The traditional African society, with its elaborate socialisation and support system is almost gone. Rites of passage, the fireplace and cultural values have taken a huge beating. The man was used to the submissive, vulnerable and fearful girl who would never answer back or worse still say no to any of his commands,” he recalls with nostalgia.

The modern man is still learning how to deal with the empowered woman.

Mbevi is now challenging men of cloth not to shy away from condemning gender based violence so as to re-

Pastor Simon Mbevi, Director, Transform Kenya duce it.

“We need to challenge this vice from the pulpit. The fight against gender based violence needs a holistic approach,” he concludes.

Medical centre offers hope for rape survivors Continued from page 8 “He rode into a bush, raped me, and then left. It was at night and deserted and area around Lanet is very remote. So I hid in the bush until morning. In the morning a woman was passing by and I asked her to help me. I did not tell her that I had been raped, she gave me bus fare and I left.

When my boyfriend discovered that I had been raped, he ended the relationship, I am now nine months pregnant.”

The increase in sexual and gender based violence in Nakuru, and a subsequent lack of community struc-

tures to cushion survivors drove Alice Njeri, an International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) volunteer with Family Care Medical Centre to devote her time into assisting survivors to recover. “The day I got raped, my world fell apart.

Before that incident, I would ask myself, how can someone get raped, I thought it happened only to certain people. But when it happened to me I realised that as long as you live in a community, you stand a risk of being raped,” explains Njeri.

She says: “I have counselled a lawyer and doctor, both of them rape

survivors. It does not just happen to children or uneducated women. All of us are at risk. My work as a sexual and gender based violence volunteer has helped me come to terms with was done to me.”

Challenges

While many rape cases largely go unreported, the difficulties in having such cases prosecuted makes it difficult for many survivors to report.

“At the police stations they use very abusive language, in my case they said that I am one of those prostitutes operating in Nakuru. They even ask

you, are you a child to be raped? They blame the survivor while the perpetrator goes free,” explains Ruth Atieno*, a rape survivor and mother of two.

There are those exceptions where the perpetrators have found themselves firmly behind bars. Asha Ndinda* had just gotten a new job at a restaurant that also had a pub. She was happy to at least have a source of income. “At the work place we had a duty rooster, where someone would remain behind to clean and lock up.”

On this particular day, it was her turn. “While I was busy cleaning up, the boss came and begun soliciting

for sex, I turned him down, but he did not take no for an answer and proceeded to rape me,” says Ndinda.

After the ordeal she went home and lay on the bed crying. “I just broke down and told my mother what had happened, we reported the matter to the police. Although justice was very hard to come by, the perpetrator was jailed for 21 years,” she explains.

These women may have experienced the worst of human nature but they are grateful that they have a medical centre and volunteers who gave them a hand when they needed it the most.

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ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Fishermen cry foul over invasion by strangers

Over 2,500 farmers to benefit from partnership

By Nicole Waithera

By ROBERT NYAGAH Fishermen in Kilifi County are a demoralised and unhappy lot.

They are not amused by the recent invasion of their turf by rivals from neighbouring Pemba Island in Tanzania.

Indeed, the arrival of more than 400 fishermen from the archipelago on the Kenya-Tanzanian waters in the Indian Ocean is causing a rift between local and foreign fishermen.

Recently, more than 200 Kenyan fishermen held a protest demanding the removal of their rivals from Malindi or else they would violently eject them.

Although that was not the first time foreign fishermen were working in Malindi, their presence has been blamed for the huge drop in the wholesale prices of fish.

They have also been accused of displacing and rendering hundreds of locals jobless.

This is because the fishermen arrived in Malindi in their own huge modern fibre glass boats as well as those provided by their employers, majority of them fish exporters who are based in Mombasa.

According to Salim Ali, secretary Beach Management Unit Coast Network, foreign fishermen are partly to blame for serious differences and conflict in the fishing industry in Malindi.

Hundreds of fishermen from Pemba start arriving in Malindi from October every year and participate in aggressive commercial fishing in the waters of the Indian Ocean, off the Malindi coastline up to the month of May when they return to their homes.

Register

Ali says today most of them are registered under the Beach Management Unit and have been issued with a temporary work permit by the Department of the Immigration.

They are causing waves in the fishing industry by delivering at least 10 tonnes of fish to the shoreline everyday using about 30 modern vessels.

In fact the presence of huge amounts of fresh fish at the beach every morning, partly given out for free by the fishers in what is locally known as “kitoweo” or “mboga” and

has led to establishment of five food kiosks all specialising mainly in fried fish and fish soap- delicacies which have been attracting hundreds of fish lovers.

“We are happy that since the fishermen from Pemba arrived in Malindi, trade and eating of fish especially at the shoreline has increased and even led to establishments of five food kiosks which mainly serve fried and boiled fish,” said Omar Kassim.

When The Reject visited the Mbuyuni fish landing point in Malindi Bay beach recently, there was a near violence when local fishermen confronted some of the foreigners as they carried their fishing gear into the sea.

Captain Athman Famau Maboza and three other Kenyan boat captains are among more than 100 experienced fishermen who have been thrown out of work by the foreigners.

Speaking to the Reject on behalf of their idle colleagues, Maboza, Mohammed Ahmed Ngula and Lali Mohammed demanded that Kilifi County government work with the national government to stop the foreign fishers from destroying the industry by undercutting them.

The fishermen have been wondering what criteria had been used to issue the seasonal foreign fishermen with work permits and allow them to use their own vessels brought in all the way from Pemba yet Malindi also hosts good boats.

“We want experts in marine environments including the Department of Fisheries, Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute and National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to investigate whether the methods of fishing used by the foreigners are safe and acceptable,” said Maboza.

Foreign fishermen sailing in the Indian Ocean for fishing.

There have been protests from Kenyan fishermen over invasion by those from Pemba. Picture: Robert Nyagah According to local fishermen, the invasion of Kenyan fisheries by foreigners needed to be controlled.

“Unless there is control we shall all be rendered jobless and eventually driven out work yet this is the only source of income and livelihood we depend on,” Maboza noted.

Invest

According to Maboza, the Malindi Bay beach alone has more than 200 young fishermen. He says that out of at least 60 boats which sail into the Indian Ocean every day, 40 were from Pemba while only 20 were from local investors who had also decided to hand over the vessels to foreign captains and fishermen.

A large number of boats packed with large ice containers for the storage of fish have been sailing out from the Malindi Bay beach every morning and evening returning with at least three to four tonnes of catch.

The large boats from Pemba, which average 30 in number, sail out with at least 10 fishermen while the medium and small ones carry between four and two fishermen per trip into the Indian Ocean fisheries which last about 22 hours.

The group said that the Malindi region which covered Watamu, Mayungu and Ngomeni had at least 400 fishermen while the fishermen from Pemba now stood at about 600.

According to Kenyan fishermen, Malindi fish dealers and boat owners preferred the foreign fishers because they sold their fish at prices of between KSh150 and KSh80 per kilogramme while Kenyans demanded KSh250 per kilogramme of

“We are happy that since the fishermen from Pemba arrived in Malindi, trade and eating of fish especially at the shoreline has increased and even led to establishments of five food kiosks which mainly serve fried and boiled fish.”

— Omar Kasim, Malindi resident

fish supplied to the dealers at wholesale price.

Malindi hosts more than 20 leading wholesale fish dealers but the key ones include Abdul Malik, Fuad Ali Mohamed, Farid Abdalla Shikelly, Jumaa Hamedd, Suleiman Abdalla, Kuswei Mohammed, Yusuf Abdaulrazak and Salim Mpemba, all who have now diverted to use of fishermen from Pemba to supply them with fish.

Much of the fish ends up in Mombasa outlets from where it is exported or sold in Nairobi and other international markets in East Africa while the rest ends up in local outlets at prices ranging from between KSh300 and KSh350 per kilogramme of fish.

Unlike in the low fishing season which starts in April and ends in July every year when the local fish dealers hand over their boats to the Kenyan fishermen and offer them attractive prices, presently all work is being done by Pemba fishers at low prices.

“The challenge is that even when there is an oversupply of fish, Malindi fish dealers continue to sell their fish to ordinary consumers at the same retail market,” said Athman.

Earn

The Kenyan fishermen said that on average they would be earning between KSh1,000 and KSh1,500 per day from the work now taken over by foreigners.

While agreeing that tension was growing between the foreigners and Kenyan fishermen, Ali defended the foreign fishermen arguing that they were hard working and accepted wholesale prices friendly to the fish dealers unlike Kenyans.

Ali said the foreign fishermen have fulfilled all the stipulated immigration rules and they did not interfere with marine ecosystems.

“The fishermen do not use unfriendly fishing methods, they are subjected to inspection and they have not broken any laws,” explained Ali. He suggested that a forum be held to ensure the two groups were reconciled to work harmoniously together.

Farmers engaged in planting traditional crops will benefit from a KSh18 million kitty to help improve their quality and boost income.

The kitty, from Self-Help Africa, a nongovernmental organisation based in Ireland, will benefit more than 2,500 farmers who grow crops like sorghum, millet and cassava.

According to Dan Otieno, the organisation’s chief executive officer the initial research identified the plants as the potential solutions to food shortage. He noted that the pilot project had already started in Bomet County. “This is the only way we will ensure food security as majority of the farmers in the country have ditched traditional crops which are not only a rich source of energy but are also drought resistant, explained Otieno. He added: “They are also adaptable to most of Kenya’s climatic zones and soils.”

Enable

According to Otieno, the organisation is already in partnership with the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute whose mandate enabled them to generate proper seed breeds for farmers. The varieties would be bred for special attributes such as early maturity, tolerance to diseases and better yields.

“This will ensure that we get the right variety of crops which can be exported to the international market,” explained Otieno.

He noted that sorghum, which is grown in areas with as little as 250 mm of rainfall could do better in areas with an average rainfall of about 600 mm. Local varieties of sorghum are less prone to bird damage compared to hybrid ones.

The project aims at boosting income, creating jobs and diversifying crops grown by farmers for their own good.

“There is a great economic potential in such plants. We want to create jobs in arid and semi-arid lands, which will prevent future hunger spells in the country,” he added.

Maize, rice, sorghum, green grams, soya and common beans, pigeon, cow and chick peas as well as finger and pearl millet seeds will be distributed to the farmers. This will be through the Kenya Seed Company.

Standard

He added that his organisation intended to partner with the Kenya Bureau of Standards who would ensure that the flour gotten from the tubers would be sifted and packed in packages for local and international supermarkets.

“This will ensure that they retain the flour to very high standards. Our recent survey has established that there is a huge demand for flour from arrow roots, cassava and sweet potatoes,” Otieno explained.

Among the areas which are being targeted are Homa Bay and Migori.

“We will be targeting Kisii for its bananas as they are of international standards. Others are in Bomet, Rongai, Kitui and Machakos.”

Areas at the Coast, where they will be targeting tubers, will get cassava cuttings and sweet potato vines in addition to the seeds.

Trade in seed and plant materials with Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar would be harmonised to ensure uncertified seeds were not used.

ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Women’s leader comes out to defend miraa farming

By ROBERT NYAGAH For the past eight months, Meru County Women Representative, Florence Kajuju, has made a name for herself with spirited efforts to protect and promote the sale of khat (miraa).

Kajuju’s voice has been heard far and wide, in and out of the august House in defence of the cash crop that is a major contributor to the economy of Meru County.

According to records, miraa, which is grown in the Nyambene Hills, contributes more than KSh2 billion monthly to the Kenyan economy.

Before a ban was imposed by Britain, its major markets were North Eastern parts of Kenya, Somalia, Middle East and parts of Europe.

In her defence Kajuju noted that the cash crop is a major creator of jobs in and out of Meru County, reiterating that thousands of women and children are dependent on earning from it through planting, weeding, pruning, transporting and sales.

She noted that many stand to suffer if it was banned as earlier proposed by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada).

Kajuju has been leading local leaders in a campaign to lobby the British Government to suspend its plans to ban miraa imports from Kenya.

The fresh leaves and some top stems of the miraa shrubs, scientifically known as Khat, are widely sold in Kenya and Somali as well as across many European countries.

11

In Meru, miraa is viewed as one of the most important source of income. It also holds a key position in the culture of the Ameru people who traditionally hand over a bundle of miraa as the first token of dowry to the parents of a prospective wife.

Meru Women Representative Forence Kajuju talks to the media when she visited miraa traders in Malindi The Reject sampled the varito gather facts about the shrub. She has promised to lobby for it’s protection. Picture: Robert Nyagah ous issues Kajuju raised in Parliament as well as in the local campaign to the highest level both governments Britain and the Nether- the crop and get new markets as well and international forums since lands was based on the fact that the as opening up other international the cash crop from Meru started facing locally and internationally.

“It does not matter whether I am two countries’ advisory councils had markets. The President promised a ban in the United Kingdom, which is a lady or woman, but the protection advised that scientific research had to quicken the completion of Isiolo one of the key export markets. of cultural heritage and economic confirmed that miraa is not bad.

International Airport to make transWhile campaigning for the seat, portation of miraa easier and faster mainstay of my people is paramount According to a report published and cannot be wished away,” she said. Kajuju noted that voters mandated to Nairobi and other parts of the While in Malindi, Kajuju held her to fight for miraa so that it could world.” by the Meru County Peak Post, KaKajuju says that her parliamenjuju expressed her full determination a forum with more than 100 miraa be sold in the world.

“I actually promised the voters dealers in Kilifi County where she tary committee on Miraa was unto fight for miraa at all costs.

Admitting that once in a while encouraged them to also contribute that within 100 days of my election I dertaking comprehensive investigashe partakes the so-called “green gold towards a fund which would be set would bring up a motion in the Na- tions to record all matters relating from Meru”, the women leader felt that aside to pay for lawyers to defend mi- tional Assembly to have an avenue to to Miraa, to review the action the research on miraa and have laws put government is taking to ensure that chewing miraa was not bad because it raa in local and international courts.

Despite the economic value mi- in place that will govern this crop,” Khat (miraa) was a suitable product was a normal social activity which ceraa holds for the Meru people, it she explained. for export. mented interaction among people.

Efforts were also being made to She admitted to being a beneficiary has been under threat for years. Under the founding President, the late tackle the continued negative camof miraa sales which were used to pay Kajuju is confident that the Jubi- paign by the (NACADA) against Jomo Kenyatta’s reign there was an her school fees.

“I grew up in Meru where I was attempt to ban it in 1974. However, lee government led by President Uh- consumption of miraa and its claseducated by money from miraa and I the Meru led by Cabinet Minister uru Kenyatta and Deputy President sification as a drug.

The committee has held several have benefitted from miraa proceeds Jackson Angaine, met the Head of William Ruto will not abandon the both in business and at family level,” State and convinced him to inter- Meru people in their quest to protect forums with cabinet secretaries and miraa farming and export especially envoys representing countries which vene and the ban was withdrawn. explained Kajuju.

Kajuju now wants the people of after the promises they made dur- have potential for miraa markets.

While displaying a bundle of miraa joined by a group Kilifi County Meru to a build system to have miraa ing the campaigns which led to their They have also conducted fact-findmiraa traders at the Hermingways farming and exports managed even garnering many votes from the Ame- ing tours in miraa-growing zones ru people. and held forums with farmers, conHotel in Malindi recently, Kajuju more profitably.

“When the two leaders were cam- sumers and traders operating in PoHer decision to launch campaigns who was attending a regional integration forum, vowed to take the to protect miraa against a ban by the paigning they promised to protect kot, Malindi, Mbeere and Isiolo.

Ban

Record

Livestock framers to benefit from Tsetse repellent

By OMAR MWALAGO The urine of cows and buffalo in Kwale County is now in high demand.

This follows a research finding by scientists that urine from domestic and wild animals could be used to make tsetse fly repellent.

This innovation is the fruit of a year of research with the strategic objective of promoting research and technological innovations.

It is also aimed at combating food security by supporting the delivery of international public good contributing to food security.

According to Dr Rajinder Kumar Saini, principal scientist and head of animal health division as well as project coordinator at International Centre of Insect Physiology (ICIPE), the research has led to development of a tsetse fly repellent technology that expands the arsenal of techniques for trypanosomiasis.

Speaking during the launch of the tsetse repellent at Shimba Hills in Kwale County, Saini said the technology was meant to reduce the use of trypanocides.

This technology involves controlledrelease of potent repellents from prototype dispensers designed to facilitate release of the repellent at a constant rate that cattle wear encircling their necks.

According to the research, the repellent provides substantial protection to cattle, the project also aims at contributing towards the improvement of food security for the poorest and most vulnerable through technology innovations.

Said Saini: “The repellents for the control and management of tsetse fly have been identified at ICIPE from synthetic sources and from natural blends of un-preferred animals like waterbuck which are common in tsetse habitats.”

The objective of the project is to improve the welfare and general prosperity of livestock keepers in Africa particularly in pastoralist and agro-pastoralist systems.

It is done through improved livestock health and productivity by promoting the adoption as well as transfer of a new tsetse control technique using tsetse repellent without other trypanosomosis control techniques.

Saini revealed that several impacts were observed since the invention started and perceptions of the technology are positive.

“Several impacts have already been observed since the intervention started and farmers’ perceptions of the technology are very positive. After nine months of having the repellent technology on the neck of their cattle there was a reduction in disease incidence by 90 per cent in the coastal areas of

Kenya where the technology was being tested,” he said.

Michael Kilonzo, a farmer in Kibambani area of Shimba Hills confirmed that they can now graze longer in tsetse infected areas including early morning and evening when tsetse flies are most active since the introduction of the repellent.

Significant

“Body weight of the protected animals have increased significantly resulting in higher selling prices and more traction powers our bulls. Our protected bulls can now plough two to three hectares of land daily,” noted Kilonzo.

On his part, Lodewijk Briet, ambassador of the European Union to Kenya noted that agricultural research and rural development were priorities in their support to Kenya.

He reiterated that the goal for the European Union in the agriculture sector is to contribute to Vision 2030 objectives of addressing food security and reducing poverty levels in the country.

“The European Union has committed KSh16 billion towards the sector which also incorporates support to nutrition and to the arid and semi-arid areas. This includes KSh10.2 billion funded under the 10th European Development Fund, KSh1.4 billion under sugar and KSh4.6 billion under resil-

ience in the Horn of Africa,” said Briet.

European Union has had a long term engagement with national research institutions such as Kenya Agriculture Research Institute, Coffee Research Foundation and Kenya Sugar Research Foundation. The support had also extended to regional and continental research bodies such as the African Union and ICIPE. According to Briet, the new alliance aims at uplifting 50 million people out of poverty in the next decade.

“This tsetse project was one of the successful and important research projects that we funded,” noted Briet. He added: “Although funding for this programme has come to an end, we anticipate that future collaboration in research with ICIPE will continue and together we shall address the needs of the rural poor and vulnerable in Kenya.”

He also said that the successful tsetse flies repellent can improve the livestock health and productivity, therefore provides a significant opportunity to improve the livelihoods of poor people and to help them escape from the poverty cycle.

“In Africa, livestock are vital for food security and over two-third of the population are dependent on them for their survival.

If the livestock are lost, the households can slip into chronic poverty trap,” Briet said.

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ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

Parents part of the scheme to marry off girls early

By HENRY OWINO Migori County is on the brink of losing its future potential female professional experts in various occupations if the rate of school girls drop-out is not checked.

The number of girls completing primary education in Migori County is a drop in an ocean compared to boys who successfully graduate.

This is due to high level of girls getting pregnant and early marriages leading to their dropping out of school before reaching class eight.

It is disturbing and discouraging that many girls are registered in lower primary than boys but only a few sit for their final national examination papers in class eight. To make matters even worse, immediately the girls attain class six, their ratio to boys dwindles and just a hand full proceed to upper primary successfully.

Primary schools in Nyatike and Suna East constituencies are leading the pack in gender disparity due to girl-child school drop-outs. The two constituencies are notorious with these incidences notably known for poor girl results.

Performance

Today girls who complete primary education are crowned as heroines regardless of their performance. This explains how girl-child education in the county is indeed in need and any means that could make them stick and concentrate in school be employed.

Crowning is just one way of encouraging girls’ education in the county to persevere the challenges and temptations they undergo in schooling. Others argue this is bending too low for girls’ education which should be the obligation of parents to ensure their daughters learn.

The constituencies in Migori County include Awendo, Uriri, Suna West, Kuria West, Kuria East and Rongo. Uriri and the two Kuria constituencies lead in children being abused in tobacco farms instead of attending school.

However, women in Migori County who should be the role models are marrying off these girls at tender age to teachers in return of wealth and other material goods. This is discouraging and disturbing but only reveals how families have decayed.

County residents suspect culprits are sugarcane harvesters popularly known as obanda in the region. Majority are employees from Sony

Sugar Company in Awendo. They are accused of luring girls with money and other goodies to sleep with them without protection.

“Teachers in this county are becoming celebrities and centres of attraction as older women compete in marrying off their daughters to them. Women consider teachers as intelligent, well informed, responsible people and respectable profession hence have money so they create room for early marriage,” observes Deus Oguda, an area resident.

Constitution

Surprisingly, these girls are aged 12-15 and considered under-age as per the Constitution yet they are being forced to get married to teachers who understand the law. The parents believe they will bear intelligent children.

Oguda reveals that in Nyatike Constituency, women compete, fight each other and even differ on principles just to have their daughters married off to teachers. There is a high level of illiteracy and ignorance among women who do not take education seriously.

He says: “Families with several girls are seen as potential of becoming rich in future at the expense of girl child education. It is not just teachers who are targets of these teenage wives but bank employees, businessmen and well off men.”

Any wealthy men in the county stands a high chance of marrying a teenage girl or adding her up to his family as second wife. Early marriages and early pregnancies have become common leading to preterm births among other pregnancy complications.

It is scaring that men are not interested in knowing HIV status of the partners they are marrying despite availability of free VCT testing.

Girls too are not after health status but professionalism and wealth.

“Most parents here are not bothered of post primary education but look at what they get from literate or rich men who marry their daughters in exchange of money and valuable resources,” Oguda laments.

“I think girls are not dropping out of school due to poverty but as results of pregnancy, cheap money, lack of focus, mentors and inability to bargain and demand for their rights,” Alice Adoyo comments.

According to Dennitah Ghati, Migori County Women Representative lack of role models to mentor the young girls is the major cause. She admits that gender disparity in the ratio of boys to girls in terms of education in the county is wide.

She discloses that schools like Oyugi-Ogango and Nyabisawa girls’ secondary among used to excel in national examinations but today the performance is extremely poor.

“Schools that were known for their good performance and categorized in top 10 best schools nationally, no longer feature nowadays,” says Ghati. She adds: “Even after the introduction of county level categories, girls schools in the county still perform dismally in mean score.”

“I think lack of leadership and poor parenting among other core elements in girl-child up bringing are some of the problems facing girls’ education in Migori County.”

— Dennitah Ghati

Leadership

Ghati reiterates: “I think lack of leadership and poor parenting among other core elements in girl-child up bringing are some of the problems facing girls’ education in Migori County.”

She says family wrangles and disintegrations after payments of tobacco and sugarcane harvests and sometimes poverty contributes to the vice.

Ghati cautions that differences between a husband and wife in a family should not lead to marrying off of girls.

She decries the attitude of some parents within the county who do not value the education of the girl-child. She says the county lags behind in girl-

Parents join children in a school event.

Parents in Migori are being accused of forcing their children out of school to get married to rich men.

Pictures: courtesy

child education because of lack of support from parents. She reminded parents that the education of the girl-child is their responsibility and should not be compromised by cultural beliefs because some parents live in the past where they still value the education of boys more than that of girls.

“Both boys and girls should be given equal education opportunities because both have the potential to excel academically,” observes Ghati.

She blames some teachers for contributing to high school girl pregnancy rate in Migori especially Kuria and Nyatike.

“Teachers should be role models and encourage more girls to pursue education,” reiterates Ghati, adding that she will soon be launching mentorship centres in the county to support girl-child education.

“I want to launch the centres in each constituency where professionals will have an opportunity to visit schools and mentor the girls by encouraging them to take up their education seriously,” she notes.

Ghati has plans of setting up of a fund to finance the education of girls.

She urges parents to take girl-child education seriously as it is the only gift that parents can offer to their children.

Her sentiments were echoed by Erick Anyanga, Member of Parliament Nyatike who issued a stern warning to parents marrying off young school girls that the law will soon catch up with them. Anyanga cautioned guardians against sending orphaned children to mining, quarrying and tobacco farms as they are abusing the children’s right to education and the same law will jail them.

“I have seen men disappearing for weeks after they are paid by these two big companies and by the time they are back, they are empty handed something a woman would not do. Women always share every bit of cent with their families and never misuse money,” Anyanga stressed.

He noted that a factor that may affect girlchild participation in primary and secondary education is majorly based on socio-economic, socio-cultural, parents’ level of education and distance from school.

Anyanga regretted that many girls have died while attempting abortion or when the man responsible refuses to take up the responsibility.

He pointed out a recent incidence where a girl lost her life after swallowing several tablets to procure an abortion.

ISSUE 094, January 1-31, 2014

Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth

13

Palm wine dealers want clarification on trade

By ROBERT NYAGAH

It is early in the morning and a middle aged woman is busy cleaning bottles and small plastic cups which she arranges on a small makeshift raft.

Moments later, a motor bike loaded with four 20-litre plastic containers full of some liquid are handed over to a woman who pays the rider in return.

After placing the containers in a corner of her makeshift kiosk, the woman sprinkles water inside to reduce the dust before cleaning the floor.

Zawadi Kenga is busy in her temporary kiosk that serves as a palm wine bar in Malindi.

As she continues with her work, a commotion starts in another kiosk some 10 metres away, before she realises what is happening a group of police officers are breaking the containers used for palm wine and pouring the liquid on to the ground.

As they run helter-skelter to avoid the wrath of the law enforcers, the police leave behind a scene of ruins and loss once their work is completed.

Reality

As the women scavenge through the ruins of their utensils, some collapse in tears on realizing the losses visited on them.

“Perhaps they assumed we were already selling the wine before the stipulated hours. It is clear that they did not find patrons but ended up destroying our source of income,” explains a devastated Kenga.

According to Kenga police have a habit of raiding the area, destroying palm wine and utensils under the guise that the palm wine pub owners are breaking laws on hours in which the bars are supposed to be opened.

She says that the police sometimes even attack the women who try to restrain them from pouring the wine which is their only source of income.

Like other alcohol serving establishments, the palm wine dealers in Malindi says that they respect the stipulated hours for operating bar business. The accuse the police of targeting them wrongly perhaps on the assumption that unlike beer and other bottled alcohol, palm wine as a traditional brew is of a lower class.

“We sell palm wine to many people who cannot afford bottled beer and other industrially packaged drinks, who like any other Kenyans want to enjoy a drink and for that reason we should not be mistreated and our wine destroyed,” says Purity

Zawadi Kenga, a palm wine traders shows the damage caused at her palm wines pub at Mbuzi Wengi area in Malindi .Armed police officers raided and poured out the palm wine before damaging properties. Picture: Robert Nyagah Dama, a leading wine dealer in the area.

Dama admits that some police officers openly accept bribes to avoid some bars but the raids are irregular and not done because the wine dealers break any law.

After years of suffering in the hands of the police, now the palm wine dealers are asking the central and Kilifi County governments to streamline palm wines business and stop police harassments.

Loans

Majority of the dealers are operating business with loans borrowed from various financial institutions and constantly making losses from police raids makes it difficult for

them to make repayments.

Some said that in the past they had failed to pay loans and ended up losing their household goods and other property used as collateral.

“The police raids are slowly rendering us moneyless and that way we are losing our household property to financial organisations which have no alternative but to impound our assets to recover their money,” says Dama.

Kenga, who is also the spokesperson of the palm wine traders wants the Government to stop the police from raiding their temporary shelters.

They explained that Palm wine was merely tapped and not like oth-

“The police raids are slowly rendering us moneyless and that way we are losing our household property to financial organisations which have no alternative but to impound our assets to recover their money.”

— Purity Dama, a palm wine trader

er illegal brews the government had banned. They insisted that Palm wine was natural and only tapped from the coconut tree and hence should be used and sold freely in the region.

“The government should clarify whether the wine which is normally tapped from the coconut trees had become an illegal brew according to the law,” said Kenga.

The traders noted the government had lifted the ban on tapping and sale of palm wine at the Coast many years ago and this is what led to the official initiation of palm wine bars and coconut produce trade establishments to benefit the locals.

The vice chairman of the Malindi Branch of Kenya Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mohammed Busaidy condemned the police for the raid and described the action as uncalled for.

Investigations

“This is unacceptable and the government has to clarify as to whether Palm wine is now classified as an illicit brew and become part of what is targeted by the police following an order by President Uhuru Kenyatta that the police

crack on illicit brews and those involve in their brewing,” Busaidy said.

He called on police officers to respect sources of income and avoid such raids which antagonise the police with the citizens.

However Kiprono Langat, Malindi Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD) defended the police saying that palm wine dealers were to blame for selling the drink before the stipulated hours.

He promised that in case the palm wine dealers have genuine protests and claims against particular police officers, they were free to record their claims in the occurrence book (OB) to pave way for investigations.

“We do not condone the breaking of the law or taking of bribe by the police and for that reason if we find any officer to have erred we shall take disciplinary action on him,” said Kiprono.

Mbuzi Wengi area is known to host more a huge number of palm wine establishments where small scale traders who are mainly women operate palm wine bars which are fully licensed by the Malindi Municipal Council and Coconut Development Authority of Kenya.

Executive Director: Arthur Okwemba Editor: Jane Godia

Write to: info@mdcafrica.org

Programme Officer: Mercy Mumo Sub-Editors: Joyce Chimbi, Carolyne Oyugi, Odhiambo Orlale and Hellen Kivaya Designer: Noel Lumbama

Contributors: Henry Owino, Robert Nyagah, Henry Kahara, Nicole Waithera, Edwin Kiprotich, Yusuf Amin, Jack Joshua.

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