The government through the State Department for Children Services is prioritizing child involvement in various societal and national development issues that impact child welfare in the country.
Through structured children assembly platform, the government is promoting children participation in identifying and finding actionable solutions to issues afflicting them including human rights, education, health, culture among many other issues.
Nakuru County Coordinator for children’s services, Pilot Khaemba, explained that the government recognizes children as active members of the society, who can identify their own needs and develop solutions to enable them influence policy, law formulation and budgetary processes from their own perspective.
The Kenya Children Assembly was established in 2011 and has since been acting as a unifying organ that brings together children from diverse ethnic and social backgrounds.
The Assembly is a structured platform that brings children together to deliberate on issues affecting their lives including education, health, protection, and overall wellbeing.
It mirrors formal governance systems, with elected child leaders taking up roles such as Governor, Speaker, and Clerk, hence offering young people a practical introduction to leadership, representation, and democratic processes as well as influence child policy development.
The Assembly provides the children leaders an opportunity to communicate government policies and development plans down to children in the villages and get feedback through the devolved structures.
Similarly, the recommendations and outcomes of debates at the Children Assemblies are channeled to the County Governments and the Central Government.
The Cordinator said CAP 141 of the Children Act and the Kenyan Constitution 2010 recognizes child participation at all levels and affirmed government’s commitment to protecting and promoting the rights of children by ensuring access to quality education, shelter, food, healthcare and others to preserve the next generation.
He said the government was keen on protecting and promoting the rights of children, because in any given country, the heritage comes from children, as they were the foundation and vital resources, who needed proper planning and budgeting.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Nakuru County Children Assembly swearing in ceremony, Khaemba noted that through the Assembly, children get an opportunity to exercise their civic rights by electing their leaders.
“The Assembly facilitates child participation, which is very key in a child’s life,” he added.
Noting that the protection and promotion of children’s rights begins from the society, the coordinator called on all stakeholders and parents to cultivate an enabling environment to uphold children rights by planning and budgeting sufficiently at the household level to provide for their basic needs like food, shelter, education and others.
The establishment of the Nakuru Children Assembly chapter means that children in the county now have an organized avenue to participate meaningfully in development.
The initiative also opens the door for their representation at the national level, where they can join peers from across the country to engage in broader issues and contribute to national discourse.
In the assembly, children normally elect their peers aged 16 years and below, who then exercise their civic duties by representing them at the national level.
Khaemba said the exercise was critical to offer the children the platform to champion for their agenda at the national level.
He emphasized that the assembly was a good opportunity for children to learn how to arrange, manage themselves and advocate for the right agenda that helps their peers including the vulnerable.
Senior Principal Magistrate Tito Gesora swore in Maxwell Owino, Mary Nyanchama and Praize Yegon as Governor, Deputy Governor and Speaker respectively. The event was held at Kenya National Library Services hall in Nakuru.
Those elected will hold office for a minimum of one term, comprised of two years and a maximum of two terms. Other electoral offices include deputy speaker, sergeant at arms, deputy sergeant at arms, clerk, deputy clerk and organizing secretary.
Khaemba explained that the Assembly will consist of 55 children’s representatives (one from each ward), three clerks appointed by the Secretariat and 4 Sergeants at -arms supported by the Scouts Association.
In addition, the County Secretariat will appoint 22 chaperones drawn from the 11 sub-counties to accompany and support the children during the launch of the Assembly.
The Assembly is managed under the State Department for Children Services, domiciled within the Ministry of Gender, Culture, and Children Services.
It aligns with Article 53 of the Kenyan Constitution and the Children Act 2022, which prioritize the best-interest of the child.
Khaemba challenged children to use structured channels like Kenya Children Assembly to convey their views and deliberate on issues affecting their lives.
The coordinator said the structures of the Children Assembly are important because they allow children to participate in policy, legislation and other issues that are of concern to children.
On the Children assembly elections, the Election Secretariat appointed and named area Assistant County Commissioners (ACCs) as Returning Officers for Ward Elections.
By Esther Mwangi and Shalin Abulala
