Homa Bay County Commissioner Mr. Moses Lilan has said that Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the region has recently spiked with reports showing that more than 50 cases are reported on a monthly basis.
“Today, we had a meeting to discuss security issues in the county and after going through the monthly statistics, I was shocked by the realization that between 50 to 100 cases of gender based violence on young girls were reported on a monthly basis,” Lilan said.
“These are girls who are either raped or killed while others subjected to despicable and sinful acts which no human being should be subjected to,” he added.
The administrator blamed the locals saying that such acts take place in front of them but they tend to feign ignorance with the mentality that it is not of their concern until they are hit by the same problem.
“You get a 10-year-old violated against but since we are self-centered, we keep silent. We need to look seriously into the issue of GBV, teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS. Talking of civilization in this 21st century, there is no civilization that permits injustice against young girls,” said Lilan.
Speaking Thursday in Homa Bay Town during the installation ceremony of the new County Senior Principal Chief Joshua Ochogo, he demanded that the locals should speak out against these three to save the young generation.
“To achieve our dream of seeing our girls become successful professionals in the future by allowing them to stay in school, we need to raise our voices against these inhumane acts that are directed towards destroying our girls,” he said.
The administrator challenged both state and non-state organizations to use their resources to curtail GBV, teenage pregnancies and HIV/AIDS on young girls instead of calling for seminars to give figures on the same without eliminating the entire problem.
“I want to ask all organizations that it is not enough to manufacture and publish statistics but it is important to look for ways to end this menace which is affecting all of us. We want to see exactly what you are doing in this respect,” he said.
He said that security teams have been informed to be on the lookout for perpetrators, saying they ought to be punished severely and according to what the law states.
“We will not loosen our grip on this because residents believe that when a highly respectable person in the society commits the act, they should not be exposed nor shamed in court or to the authorities. They fear that by doing so, the relationship they once had with the perpetrator will end,” he added.
Lilan asked the locals and the new senior principal chief Ochogo to be alert regarding the recent outbreaks of Ebola since Homa Bay borders Uganda where the disease broke out.
“If need be you should minimize unnecessary travelling across our waters as Ebola is highly infectious and difficult to treat. I urge residents to be alert especially at the points of entry in Remba, Mbita and Kendu Bay. Let us be keen on reporting such cases at government offices and the health centers,” he stated.
To prevent the disease from spreading into the county, security teams have been deployed at all entry points to handle any person having signs of Ebola from coming into Homa Bay.
