Murkomen links rising cases of defilement in Homa Bay to disco matanga
By Mabonga Makhanu, September 16, 2025Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has linked the rising cases of defilement in Homa Bay to disco matanga, widely practised in the Nyanza and western counties.
While speaking during a Jukwaa la Usalama meeting in Homa Bay on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, he expressed concern about how defilement cases have escalated in the county, with most cases emanating from disco matangas, which continue to be practised despite them having been banned.
“Defilement is a big issue in Homa Bay County; the prevalence of defilement cases here is promoted by cultural practices, which include disco matanga, which has been banned in this area,” Murkomen said.
He further urged the Homa Bay locals to report incidences of defilement to relevant authorities and not to conceal them since, according to Murkomen, the perpetrators are mostly relatives of the victims.
“These are high crimes; we do not want the community to hide the perpetrators, as some of the reasons why they hide them are because some are relatives,” Murkomen noted.
He went on to state how the Jukwaa la Usalama programme that the interior ministry has been carrying out in various counties is meant to curb crimes and solve insecurity problems around the country, stating that it has unearthed a lot of insecurity problems.
“Our Jukwaa La Usalama tour of counties continues to give us invaluable insights into security and service delivery challenges affecting citizens and possible strategies to resolve them,” Murkomen stated.
Defilement in Vihiga
While in Vihiga, the issue of defilement arose, with Murkomen rejecting the use of out-of-court conflict resolution mechanisms in defilement and incest-related cases, which he said are prevalent in Vihiga County.
Speaking during Jukwaa La Usalama in Vihiga County on Saturday, September 6, 2025, the CS called for an end to the use of alternative means in resolving such cases, noting that this practice has taken root in the region.
According to Murkomen, one of the main reasons defilement persists in Vihiga is cultural acceptance, where incidents such as an uncle defiling a child are often settled within families or through community negotiations instead of being prosecuted in court as required by law.
“The issue here is cultural acceptance; why defilement is very prevalent in these regions is cultural practices and societal structure. A lot of it is incestuous, with close family members defiling a small child or an uncle or stepfather,” he said.
“And I have told the security teams we can’t have these, and this is the discussion I have had with the chiefs, so we can’t have alternative conflict resolution measures to solve the problem; it must be just enforcement of the law, and everybody involved in defilement must be arrested,” he started.