Ugenya deputy county commissioner Pamela Otieno has decried high rates of defilement and teenage pregnancies in the area.
Otieno lamented that the sub county was leading in incidents of defilement of school girls and teenage pregnancies in Siaya County, something that she described as shameful.
Speaking to journalists at her office in Ukwala town, Mrs. Otieno said the perpetrators of the vice included respected members of the society such as teachers and even boda boda operators.
She said that most parents and guardians in the area seem to have abdicated their responsibility of taking good care of their children hence exposing them to pedophiles.
The deputy county commissioner said the government will not tolerate those who take advantage of the underage girls, adding that her office had established that most defilement cases end up in Kangaroo courts, where parents help the perpetrators conceal the crime after being compromised.
“Those who participate in protecting defilement suspects, be they government officials or anybody else will equally face the law,” said the administrator.
Mrs. Otieno reiterated that recent ban on discos in the region was still on, adding that the police and other security agencies have been instructed to intensify patrols across the sub county to enforce the order.
The discos, she lamented have been turned into criminal havens where teenage girls are defiled while male youth get maimed or even killed.
By Philip Onyango
