Leaders to address mushrooming street begging in Meru Town

Meru,

Monday, December 4, 2023

KNA by Dickson Mwiti

 Meru county leaders will devise strategies to deal with scores of women and children with disabilities, who have currently invaded Meru town streets, purporting to beg for alms.

Speaking at Kaaga Primary School, Meru County during celebrations to mark this year’s International Day for Persons with Disabilities, Imenti North MP Rahim Dawood said it was depressing to see children as young as three years, being driven in wheelchairs under the scorching sun or rain, only to be placed at strategic points so they can beg for help.

 Dawood said the children, believed to be from the neighbouring countries were being tortured, since this was not the best way to seek help for them.

 “Kenya has well-articulated social protection policy including the Inua Jamii Programme, which takes care of such children. In any case, must someone move around with the child the whole day, without even minding their welfare for them to get money?” posed Rahim.

 The MP said they have held sittings with the local national government leadership and they have already come up with strategies to deal with such cases once and for all.

 “I am aware that some of the disabled women and children driven in these wheelchairs are victims of rape by those who assist them to move around and this is the reason you will find some of them with babies including girls below 18 years,” he said.

  “These children have been in these streets for years now. Isn’t this money enough to help them in one way or the other, and how sure are we that this money will go into helping the child?” he quipped.

On his side, Municipality ward MCA Caleb Mutethia who also attended the event congratulated the MP for standing with the disabled people all through, while trying to bargain for their better future upkeep.

He said that he was in the process of preparing a manhandling bill to be tabled in the county assembly, and once passed, it would be committed to the gender office and be used to regulate illegal carrying children around the town in the guise of seeking for help. 

“One of the proposals in the bill is that for someone to be allowed to beg in town, one must produce a certificate from the chief or other senior government officials stating the need to do so,” said Mutethia.

Courtesy; KNA