We must protect our children from pornography at all costs

The arrest of 57 students in Nakuru for allegedly watching pornography illustrates the shameful depths that our country has sunk to.

The students from six different schools were rounded up at a play station den on Wednesday watching raunchy videos while still dressed in school uniforms. They had been released from school hours earlier for the August holidays.

There are many other cases of pornography involving children that have shocked the nation. Still in Nakuru, a 46-year-old boda boda rider was sentenced to 15 years in prison last December for sexually exploiting children.

Tom Kidemi was found guilty of forcing children, aged between 12 and 14 years, to engage in sexual acts after making them watch pornographic movies.

The trouble with Kenya is that pornography has become more accessible than food. Besides video and play station dens, adult content is easily available online. We have a big problem on our hands considering that even some primary school children access the unsavory content on their smartphones.

Besides, some matatus are known to entertain their clients with porn at night while the Government is in deep slumber.

There is ample evidence that porn increases the likelihood of minors engaging in premarital sex. It also makes youth to shun condoms and engage in unsafe sex. In addition, porn is known for making boys become violent against women.

That is why we must shield our children from pornography at all costs. We must block all channels that expose adult content to children.

In any case, pornography is illegal in Kenya. The Films and Stage Plays Act outlaws the creation, broadcasting, possession, distribution and exhibition of pornographic films. But, unfortunately, this has not hindered the proliferation of sex videos and online adult content.

Kenya Film Classification Board, national and county governments do little to counter the propagation of pornography, and especially to children.

The Government must step up surveillance to ensure the so-called video dens do not show sex films. It should also consider filtering, if not totally blocking pornographic websites. Allowing these obnoxious films to continue corrupting the gullible minds of our children, is to fail in our duty as parents and the Government. We should be careful not to take our country down the precipice, morally.