It takes a village ...

The Standard is publishing a three-part expose on the evils visited on children in Kenya, especially at the Coast. In 2006 when these issues were first highlighted, it was First Lady Lucy Kibaki who came out strongest for action to be taken to ensure that childhoods are not ruined by the sexual proclivities of the evil ones among us. Sadly, her exhortations fell on deaf ears. Millie Odhiambo (ODM, Nominated) styles herself as the 'MP for Children' but I do not recall a single instance in which she has raised her voice in defence of children in the National Assembly. Her public appearances since she was nominated to Parliament have revolved almost exclusively on the petty political intrigues that have surrounded her party of choice. Njoki Ndung'u was almost single-handedly responsible for the passage of the Sexual Offences Act, but she too seems to have rested on her laurels and there seems to have been a definite atrophying of efforts to further develop the law so that the innocent are protected from abuse or exploitation.

The Constitution proclaims at article 45 that "Family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and the necessary basis of social order, and shall enjoy the recognition and protection of the State." It further proclaims at article 53 that "(1) Every child has the right ... (d) to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, all forms of violence, inhuman treatment and punishment, hazardous and exploitative labour ..." and "(2) A child's best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child."

The Children Act at section 13 states that "(1) A child shall be entitled to protection from physical and psychological abuse, neglect and any other form of exploitation including sale, trafficking or abduction by any person" and "(2) Any child who becomes a victim of abuse ... shall be accorded appropriate treatment and rehabilitation ..."

The Children Act came into force in 2001 and in that period the State has done nothing to improve the lot of children living and suffering in Kenya. The hideous truth is to be seen daily on our streets and in our so-called five-star tourist hotels, especially at the Coast. Yesterday, it was reported that a person or persons unknown had managed to traffic into Kenya children aged between 5 and 14 for purposes that remain unclear and that they were abandoned on the streets of Nairobi to fend for themselves. If it were not for the actions of a man in the employ of a children rights non-governmental agency, they would have been left to navigate the dangerous streets of our fair city. Quite clearly, the provisions of the Children Act criminalising child-trafficking are yet to be internalised by our immigration or security authorities. If not, how do you explain the fact that children incapable of making their way out of their village managed to travel from the border with Tanzania at Isebania all the way to Nairobi without anyone batting an eyelid or asking a question?

It can be argued that since they were not Kenyan children, there is nothing much we can do about their straitened circumstances. However, this is not the same buck-passing philosophy that we can employ with our own children. It has been stated that a primary cause of the plight in which Kenyan children find themselves is poverty and that this motivates them and their families to engage in activities that without which they could not survive. This is horse-shit!

The State has a responsibility to ensure that ALL children are protected. The State is personified in the President, the Prime Minister and their Cabinet, in the Provincial Administration, in the local authorities and in the various state agencies and departments that tax us so heavily and deploy their coercive resources to keep us down when we protest. The State has failed its children and it is up to us, as law-abiding, tax-paying, otherwise obedient citizens to point out that with the coming of the new Constitution, it is no longer business as usual. The child-rights agencies are pushing against the sky in this effort and the State must begin to take its responsibilities seriously if it is to be taken seriously.

For starters, the State, in all its manifestations, must begin to re-direct its resources to ensure that children enjoy the rights that are inalienably theirs. White elephants must take back-seat to the need of providing for children country-wide. Before our Members of Parliament and their acolytes avail themselves of tax-free allowances, they must ensure that schools are built, teachers are provided, hospitals are staffed and medicines provided, and children have food in their stomachs and roofs over their heads. Family is the basis for social order and in children that social order is affirmed when they are healthy and safe. As individuals we cannot walk past the innocent faces of children everyday, simply worrying about our lives as if they are an inconvenience for others to worry over. An old African adage goes that it takes a village to raise a child. It is our responsibility as Kenyans to raise our children in safety and this is not limited to the fathers and mothers who sired and bore these children. When you see a child being used or abused, you must take action to ensure that the safety of that child is assured. It is your responsibility as much as that of the State.

The penalties for allowing children to be so ill-treated must be enforced to the maximum and maybe, even enhanced. It is rumoured that when a child from a poor family is sexually assaulted that sometimes the parents enter into an out-of-court settlement with the child's abusers or sometimes that the abuser himself bribes his way out of prosecution. This is mind-boggling. I have read the Criminal Procedure Code cover to cover and nowhere does it provide for plea-bargaining. Who are the prosecutors who decided to withdraw these cases from the court docket? Who are the magistrates who allowed this passage of affairs? Who are the prosecutors and policemen who received bribes and allowed the destroyers of dreams to walk among us? If you know of any public officer who allowed perpetrators of these heinous crimes to walk free, this is your opportunity to remind them that, in the words of another African saying, "Siku za mwizi ni arobaini." The vetting of judges and magistrates is about to take off. The National Police Service Commission is about to be appointed. As responsible citizens it is our duty and responsibility to report these public officers to these bodies to ensure that they do not continue to hold positions of rank or authority while innocent children suffer the effects of the decisions that they have taken. And those parents who placed their children in harm's way must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and those who profited from the plight of these children must pay the price too. This is Kenya and it is no longer OK to walk tall when children are laid low. Children rights should be the defining moral question of the Kenyan Twenty-first Century.