Cases of child abuse in Kilifi County are still high despite efforts to combat the vice, with data from courts indicating that at least 90 cases were reported in 2024.
Speaking on Friday during a court stakeholders' meeting in Kilifi, Resident Magistrate Charles Obulutsa said the court recorded 46 cases of child neglect last year.
"We have recorded 90 cases of gender-based violence. Sometimes you will find there are children who have been abused by their close family members. Sometimes you find it is the father abusing the child, the grandfather or even a sibling or a neighbour," he said.
Obulutsa said the court has brought together all the stakeholders involved to expedite the cases in court.
"We have brought in the police department, the prisons department, the probation department, the children's office and the ODPP's office.
"We are trying to see where there is a challenge so that we can deliberate and see these cases are being heard in court as fast as possible," he said.
The magistrate said that most suspects are not convicted due to a lack of sufficient evidence because either the victims are threatened or paid not to testify.
''GBV cases require a doctor's report, but sometimes you might find the evidence lacks in court or the police file was not brought in court,'' he said.
Kilifi North children's officer Apopo Waren asked the court to expedite children's cases to ensure justice.
''All the children's cases in court must be expedited for quicker justice,'' he said.
The clergy asked parents to uphold their responsibility to protect children, especially during the long school holidays.
Led by Ustadh Ali Athman, they condemned the widespread sexual violence and abuse against children and called for prosecution of the perpetrators.
Ali regretted that parents mostly fail to report defilement cases, and in the event the victim falls pregnant, they are taken to live with an aunt far away to avoid being questioned by the authorities.
Disco matanga has been blamed for the increase in defilement cases.
Despite the ban on disco matanga, stakeholders claimed that locals pay the police and authorities to be allowed to hold the events.
