A shocking report has revealed that 1,073 teenage girls in Lamu County have been impregnated between 2024 and mid-2025, with many cases linked to sexual violence, defilement, and forced early marriages.
Human rights groups Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) say despite repeated warnings, government leaders have failed to take decisive action, leaving vulnerable girls without protection or support.
According to data submitted by the Lamu County Gender Sector Working Group to the Presidential Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide, of the cases, 789 pregnancies were recorded in 2024 with an additional 284 cases reported between January and May 2025.
According to MUHURI, who also submitted a report to the taskforce, many of these pregnancies resulted from rape and defilement as well as early marriages. Alarmingly, another report by the National Syndemic Disease Control Council (NSDCC) found that an average of 696 adolescent girls were impregnated every day in 2023.
In 2024, KHRC, using the 2022 Kenya Demographic Health Survey report, identified the top 10 counties with the highest rates of teenage pregnancies among girls aged 15-19. KHRC also named the counties with the highest per capita contribution to this crisis.
In response, KHRC issued symbolic “red cards” to the Health Cabinet Secretary and governors of the worst-affected counties, declaring them “unfit for public office” for failing to safeguard young girls.
The KHRC also submitted formal petitions to the Senate, National Assembly, and Council of Governors. The letters called for urgent interventions, including:
To the Senate:
- Reconsider KHRC’s earlier petition and summon governors of the most affected counties to explain measures being taken to combat teenage pregnancy.
To the National Assembly:
- Summon the Cabinet Secretary for Health to clarify existing policies and Kenya’s commitment to the Eastern and Southern Africa Commitment on comprehensive sexuality education.
- Summon the Cabinet Secretary for Education to outline strategies ensuring that pregnant girls are re-admitted to school without conditions and provided with psychosocial support.
To the Council of Governors:
- Lead efforts to address root causes of teenage pregnancy, including through Community Health Promoters.
- Partner with the Ministry of Education to ensure unconditional school re-entry and support for pregnant girls.
- Publicly denounce stigma and discrimination against pregnant students and commit to their continued education.
- Collaborate with the Ministry of Health to address policy gaps on prevention and management of adolescent pregnancies.
- Urge parents to fulfill their responsibilities under the Children’s Act and the Constitution to protect their children’s wellbeing.
And despite these demands, they say no meaningful interventions have been implemented, leaving victims without justice or support.
“This inaction leaves them vulnerable to sexual violence, without access to critical sexual and reproductive health services, and unable to complete their education.” Said the statement from MUHURI and KHRC.
The activists are accusing the leaders of gross negligence, arguing that Lamu’s crisis reflects a broader failure in governance.
With the 2027 general election approaching, human rights organizations are urging Kenyans to hold leaders accountable at the ballot box.
“Our daughters’ lives are hanging in the balance, and many will never get a second chance. We cannot give failed leaders another opportunity to serve in public office and continue to destroy the lives of our girls. We maintain that the Senate, National Assembly, and Council of Governors must not shirk their responsibilities. They must summon the relevant governors and the Health CS to publicly account for the steps to protect our girls and stop this crisis. They must also summon the Education CS to explain what the ministry is doing to ensure the return to school policy is adhered to,” added the statement.
The groups maintain that the Senate, National Assembly, and Council of Governors must summon the relevant governors and the Health CS to publicly account for the steps to protect the girls and stop this crisis.
They also want the Education CS Julius Ogamba summoned to explain what the ministry is doing to ensure the return to school policy is adhered to.
