News Break
A 20-year-old man is being held at Kopolo Police Post in Bondo Sub-County after he was arrested for cohabiting with a 16-year-old girl at Gul-Koyando Village in East Migwena Sub-Location.
According to the area village elder George Otieno, the suspect who has been identified as Abraham Oluoch was arrested after he was found staying with the minor as his wife. He stated that they got the information on Wednesday evening and went to execute the arrest after the suspect is alleged to have beaten the minor who is a class seven pupil at Rapogi Primary School in West Yimbo Location.
George “Nyanza Daily” that he arrested both the suspect and the minor and handed them over to the area Assistant chief Alfred Otieno Oyola who took them to Kopolo Police post.
“These cases are on the rise in this area and we will ensure that the perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted,” he said.
The area Assistant chief confirmed the arrest of the suspect and the minor. “Police have already investigations to establish the exact age of the girl before they can be processed for prosecution,” said Oyola.
The arrest comes a few days after President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive to the National Crime Research Centre to probe “the escalating cases of Gender-Based Violence, the worrying trend of cases where the girl child has been disempowered, and the violation of children’s rights.”
The President’s announcement comes amidst reports that over 152,000 teenage girls became pregnant which is a 40% increase in the monthly average. Some of these pregnancies could be as a result of sexual violence, which has been projected to rise during COVID-19 lockdowns.
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