As the country continues to grapple with serious drought and famine,
it has emerged that some parents from a village in Kiambu County, are
intentionally intoxicating their children to keep them in bed longer – and to ensure they do not complain about food.
According to reports, some parents from Gwakimori Makwa village in Gatundu South,
have been giving their children illicit brew to calm them down when there is no food to eat.
Many parents may be oblivious of the fact that their acts contravene the Children’s Act of Kenya,
which is meant to protect children under the age of 18 years from mistreatment, abuse and such harmful acts as giving them alcohol and drugs.
Gwakimori Makwa village elder Mr. Peter Weru Kimani warned the said parents, noting that some were even giving their children bhang.
He said: “It is true that we have had isolated cases where parents give their children, most of whom are not able to attend school,
illicit brew hopping it will help to cushion them from noticing their hunger.”
The village elder said that many children have not been attending school due the biting hunger,
with many families struggling to put food on the table.
“This is a very disturbing situation, and we need urgent intervention to improve the situation before we lose a generation just because we struggle to put food on the table,” said Kimani.
Meanwhile, a group of youth from the village recently teamed up to donate some food stuff to the villagers to help mitigate the situation.
The youth have appealed to the national government to consider central region in their relief food distribution programme