Kericho County Commissioner (CC) Jeremiah Gicheru has warned individuals and groups running illegal and unregistered children’s homes in Kericho County that severe legal actions would be taken against them.
Speaking when he chaired the Kericho County service delivery meeting Thursday, Gicheru said the mushrooming of unregistered homes was against government policy, which seeks to reduce reliance on institutions and instead promote family-based care.
“The government is shifting policy away from institutionalizing children, instead promoting kinship care, fostering and other methods to protect vulnerable children.
The CC directed chiefs, their assistants and security agents to work with other children and education stakeholders in a bid to weed out unregistered and illegal homes for children within the locality.
Gicheru noted that unscrupulous individuals were being suspected of using the vulnerable children to generate illicit income, while at the same time using the homes as conduits for illegal child trafficking.
According to the Kericho County Children’s Officer, Grace Kipkech, homes must be formally registered and inspection carried out regularly to ensure they meet the required standards of care.
She warned that many facilities were operating outside the law and could be condoning abuse or exploitation of children.
Kipkech urged chiefs and Assistant County Commissioners (ACCs) to monitor institutions in their areas and verify their legitimacy.
Currently, she added, no new children’s homes were being registered as part of this policy change, whose aim is to reduce the number of children living in homes or institutions.
“When somebody has several children who are not his or hers, it raises concerns and as custodians and protectors of children, we should be able to interrogate and find out what is happening in the homes,” she said.
Additionally, the children’s officer narrated that two cases of illegal or unregistered children’s homes have already been reported.
One of them is in Kericho East, where officials made a surprise visit but found no one. The other one is the Immaculate home for the disabled in Soin Sigowet.
“The Soin Sigowet case is serious because children with disabilities require specialized care. The facility is not a school, yet children are being kept there under unclear circumstances,” Kipkech observed.
She appealed to National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) and residents to remain vigilant, stressing that unregistered homes could be hiding cases of abuse or child exploitation.
Kericho County Director of Education (CDE) Julius Ngoneshi echoed similar concerns, saying some unregistered facilities claim to be schools, but they are not recognized.
He noted that only three special schools were officially registered in the county, including Kedowa Special School in Londiani, St. Kizito School for the Deaf in Litein, and Charera School for the Disabled in Bureti.
Ngoneshi further warned that unregistered homes could even be used for child trafficking. “We need to be very careful with all the institutions,” he said.
The CDE emphasized that protecting children requires cooperation from chiefs, education officers and residents.
By Dominic Cheres
