The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) have called out elected leaders over what they term as standing by as teenage pregnancies destroy the future of young girls in the country.

In a statement on Thursday, June 5, 2025, the rights bodies indicated their attempts to reach out to members of the National Assembly, Senate, and the Council of Governors have been met by silence and inaction.

“Despite these efforts, neither MPs, senators, nor governors have responded or taken the necessary actions to safeguard our young girls. This inaction leaves them vulnerable to sexual violence, without access to critical sexual and reproductive health services, and unable to complete their education,” the groups say.

The rights group revealed that Lamu County alone recorded at least 1,073 cases of teenage pregnancy between 2024 and mid-2025, according to a report submitted by the county’s gender sector working group to the Presidential Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide.

Alarming trend

Of these, 789 cases were reported in 2024, with an additional 284 recorded between January and May 2025. MUHURI observes that a majority of these cases resulted from rape, defilement and early marriages.

The groups equally noted that a report by the National Syndemic Disease Control Council (NSDCC) found that an average of 696 adolescent girls were impregnated every day in 2023, underpinning the urgent need to address the root cause of the trend.

“In response, KHRC issued red cards to the Health Cabinet Secretary and governors of the most affected counties, symbolically declaring them unfit for public office due to their failure to protect vulnerable girls and ensure their return to school,” the statement reads in part.

Sent home

The groups said they had written letters to the Senate to summon governors of counties with some of the highest teenage pregnancies to outline measures they were taking to bring down the numbers, but nothing has come out of the demands.

They also indicated that similar letters have been written to the National Assembly to summon the Cabinet Secretary for Health and that of Education to address the growing problem.

“The situation in Lamu is a sobering example of systemic failure. Kenyans, especially those in affected counties, must demand accountability from elected leaders who have failed to uphold their duties,” the groups suggest.

“As the next general election approaches, citizens must evaluate the performance of MCAs, MPs, senators, governors, and the national government based on how they have protected—or failed to protect—our sexual and reproductive health rights. Those who stood by as our young girls’ futures were destroyed do not deserve our votes. They should be sent home.”