Arati pledges support for child whose eyes were gouged out

A three-year-old child whose eyes were gouged out by unknown people at Ikuruma village, Marani sub-county in Kisii, will be taken to a rehabilitation centre.

Kisii Governor Simba Arati, who visited Sagini Junior at the Kisii Eye Hospital yesterday, said his sister Shantel Kemunto, 7, will also be admitted to the centre. The girl, he said, has health problems.

“The government has paid the hospital bill. Let us be angels of other people,” Arati said.

The Governor said it was shocking that anyone could be so cruel to a child and urged chiefs, clan elders and community health workers to monitor actions of people in villages and identify those with mental problems and those who abuse drugs.

“We want to use community health workers to know the mental status of our people to avoid such incidents,” he said.

He appealed to the Administrators, clan elders and the community health workers to be wary of people who abuse drugs and ensure they do not harm other people.

Sponsorship

Accompanied County Executive Committee members Leah Ogega (Health) and Eric Miyienda (Sports, Culture and Arts), Arati said the county government will sponsor the child’s education until he becomes self-reliant.

He said the county government will allocate funds in the supplementary budget to support the rehabilitation centre and equip it to enable the facility to serve the community more effectively.

The Hospital’s Medical Director Dr Dan Kiage said the hospital will work closely with the county government to support the child at the rehabilitation centre.

County Police Commander Musyoki Mutungi said detectives have launched investigations into the matter with the intention of bringing to culprits to book.