Naivasha magistrate raises a red flag on child abuse

The Judiciary yesterday raised alarm over the increase in child abuse cases in Naivasha and Gilgil sub-counties of Nakuru County.

Naivasha Principal Magistrate Julian Ndegere noted that the court had received more than 150 child abuse cases this year, a significant increase from previous years.

Ndegere said child sexual abuse offences form the bulk of the cases handled by the court.
“Some of them involve minors who were trafficked from neighbouring countries for sexual exploitation purposes,” she said.

The judge cited lack of a holding facility for children in conflict with law in Naivasha as a major impediment to expedition of court cases and called upon well-wishers to support the completion of a child protection unit.

Ndegere has appealed to the public to take advantage of the Judiciary’s Children National Service Month to ensure that matters touching on children are expedited. Naivasha Gender Based Violence cluster groups coordinator John Kinuthia criticized informal out-of-court resolution mechanisms that shield offenders from facing justice at the expense of the victims, but noted that huge strides had been taken in reversing the trend, thanks to sensitisation.