Help sought for minor abducted and married

A family in Ithanga, Thika East, is calling for Government intervention to rescue their 12-year-old daughter abducted by a neighbour.

The 40-year-old man accused of abducting the Standard Six pupil has reportedly turned her into a wife against her will. The pupil of Mugumo Primary School was married three months ago despite spirited resistance from her parents.

The man is alleged to have abducted the girl from their home towards the end of March before taking her to his home in the neighbourhood where they lived for a while before he moved with her to a neighbouring village.

The girl's mother told The Standard that the minor's 'husband', who is a casual labourer in the area, threatened them with dire consequences if they continued to oppose his marriage.

"After abducting my daughter, he came to my home one Sunday afternoon drunk and told me I was going to be his in-law whether I liked it or not and should therefore stop wasting time opposing the marriage," she said.

Obedient pupil

She said the family's efforts to get help from the police had yielded no fruit. The mother of three said the man was arrested in April but was released shortly after as the police said there was not enough evidence to take him to court.

"When I went to report the matter at Kaguku Police Post, the police officers I met there put me off by telling me to go back home because I had no concrete evidence against the man," she said.

When The Standard visited the police post, the commanding officer was said to be away on official duty. The police officer on duty denied that any reports of such a case had been made at the post.

"We have never had a report of such a case here. Had we known of such a case the suspect would have been charged with defilement in accordance with the law. It is totally unacceptable," the officer said.

The deputy headteacher at the school, Gabriel Wanyoike, said they had raised the matter with the area chief and the Children's Department but no progress had been made.

"Our mission to rescue the girl hit a brick wall several times. Our hands are tied and there is nothing we could do beyond what we did," said Mr Wanyoike.

The girl's class teacher described her as an intelligent and obedient pupil whose academic future looked bright.

"She was a disciplined and humble pupil with good morals. She was one the best performers and there was no sign that all was not well," the teacher said.

The girl's father called on the Government to apprehend the man in order to allow his daughter to continue with her education.