The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has rescued a student set to undergo female genital mutilation in Narok County on Wednesday.
The student, whose identity is not disclosed, came home for the school mid-break only to find out that her parents were planning to force her to undergo the illegal procedure.
According to the DCI, the girl informed the head girl of her school, who was also at home with her parents in Thidigua, Kiambu County. The head girl took a step to contact the DCI with the help of her parents.
“Through a phone call, she immediately alerted her school head girl who was with her parents in Thindigua, Kiambu county, about the evil plans hatched by her parents,” said the DCI.
The DCI then acted fast by sending officers to rescue the student from her parents.
The officers took the girl to a safe house, where she is to stay until her case is resolved.
As for her parents, they have since been arrested and will be held in police custody as investigations against them are being collected.
Though the FGM practice has been banned in Kenya, it is still persistent in pastoral communities.
A report by the Ministry of Interior Security revealed that most parents force their children to undergo the vice in secret. Some take their children to neighboring countries, where laws against FGM are not as stringent as those in Kenya.
In 2019, Fred Matiang’i, the Cabinet Secretary of Interior Security, vowed to deal with the FGM issue by lobbying resources the arrest of those who plan, practice, and sympathize with it.
