Young Teenagers pregnancies in Nyandarua County


Peter Kangethe, 52, was arraigned at Loitoktok Law Court for acting indecently with a 20-year-old mentally challenged girl.



Peter Kangethe, who appeared before Principal Magistrate Judicastor Nthuku, was charged that on October 22, last year, around the Ilasit area, Loitoktok sub-county, he touched the private parts of the girl without her consent.



The girl told the court how she and another boy had gone to fetch firewood and then went to ask for water at their neighbour's house.



She further said she was ushered into the house by the accused neighbour while the boy remained outside.



While in the house drinking water, the accused started touching her private parts after closing the door.



The girl claimed the accused defiled her, but when she went home, she never reported the matter until the following day when her mother enquired. The mother asked why she did not wake up, and she responded that she was unwell.



The complainant's mother, Mrs Ann Wangui, told the court how her daughter narrated to her how the accused acted indecently and reported the matter at the Ilasit police station, leading to the arrest of the accused.



The accused denied the charges, and the next hearing will be on February 27, 2023.

 


In another story in Nyandarua county, where over 6,000 teenage girls got pregnant in the last three years, authorities confirmed on Tuesday, February 21, 2023.



Some of the girls affected are as young as 14 years. The county authorities had a stakeholders' one-day meeting.



Nyandarua Central Deputy County Commissioner Peter Kimani, representing County Commissioner Amos Mariba, said there was a need for stakeholders to pool efforts to curb the problem.



The Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE) Kenya Chapter were the organizer and ready to launch its activities in the county.



According to FAWE Nyandarua Coordinator Anthony Mwakwasha, the activities will include interventions such as peer clubs in schools to create awareness and help stem teenage pregnancies and child marriages.



The County Director of Quality Assurance Standards, Samuel Ngugi, called for well-thought-out interventions that will not propagate stigma against the girls who are victims of child pregnancies.



Nyandarua HIV Coordinator Stephen Mwangi said an average of 25 girls aged between 10 - 14 get pregnant yearly in the county.



"In 2020, 25 girls in that age category got pregnant; the figure rose to 27 in the following year, and last year it stood at 30 girls," Mwangi said.



But the trend of teenage pregnancy is worrying in the 15–19-year age group, where 2,281 girls got pregnant in 2020 in Nyandarua County. 



In 2021, the figure rose to 2,470 girls. In 2022, the figure dropped to 2,033 girls, Mwangi said.


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