No 'forced cut', governor declares

Bungoma, Kenya: Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka, has appealed to his residents not to force people outside the county into circumcision.

The Bukusu people are currently performing the traditional rite of passage for their boys. Lusaka said it is illegal to forcefully circumcise people from communities that do not carry out the rite.

Speaking when he officially opened a three-day medical camp at Miendo dispensary in Kabuchai constituency on Thursday,  Lusaka said every man has a right to choose the best method he wants to undergo to rite to adulthood.

"Everybody has a choice of how they get into manhood, they can do it traditionally or even in hospitals. Other people from other communities do not carry out circumcision and please, let's not compel people to undergo the forced 'cut'," said the governor.

The governor's remarks come days after Bungoma South OCPD Kirunya Limbitu, told journalists that police have been deployed in major towns of the county to apprehend people who will attempt to force men to undergo the cut.