Catholic Church probes claims Marie Stopes gave students birth control pills
Kitui senator Enock Wambua during press conference at Parliament Building in Nairobi. Mr Wambua joined other Kitui residents in condemning move by Marie Stopes to give high school students contraceptives. PHOTO | ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The pills given to the girls included Norplant, a hormone-carrying rod used to prevent pregnancy.
- Norplant has serious side-effects such as prolonged and irregular menstrual bleeding, breast pain, vomiting, weight gain and scalp hair loss.
- Father Julius Muthamba, the Kitui Catholic Diocesan education secretary, described the incident as “scandalous and criminal”.
The Catholic Church and the Education ministry are investigating allegations that pro-abortion activists who visited a secondary school in Kitui County last week gave birth control pills to dozens of teenage girls without the consent of their parents.
The activists from Marie Stopes, an organisation that advocates women’s rights to have children by choice, visited Archbishop Boniface Lele Secondary School Mang’elu in Kitui West and allegedly gave female students various forms of contraceptives.
The pills given to the girls included Norplant, a hormone-carrying rod used to prevent pregnancy.
It is inserted under the skin, normally on the upper arm, and it is effective for up to five years.
CONDEMNATION
The incident — which happened on Wednesday as the world was marking the International Day of the Girl Child — attracted condemnation from parents, Kitui leaders and the Catholic Church, which sponsors the school, because the girls are still under the consenting age in matters of reproductive health.
Norplant has serious side-effects such as prolonged and irregular menstrual bleeding, breast pain, vomiting, weight gain and scalp hair loss.
The Catholic Church said it was investigating the matter with a view to bringing those responsible for what happened to account.
Father Julius Muthamba, the Kitui Catholic Diocesan education secretary, described the incident as “scandalous and criminal”.
FULL DETAILS
He said he had instructed the school’s principal, Mr Andrew Kwale, to furnish his office with full details of what transpired and why the activists were allowed to take the students through such morally negative lessons and medical procedures.
“The Catholic Church’s strong stand against contraceptives is widely known. It’s sad that this happened within a school we sponsor but more fundamentally the negative effect — spoiling the girls morally,” said Fr Muthamba said.
The district education officer, Mr Peter Njoroge, promised to investigate the matter.
The principal said he allowed the activists into the school compound after they told him that they had been cleared by the county director of education to take the girls through a health awareness session.
DIFFERENT MISSION
He added that he was not aware that their mission was different.
Mr Kwale admitted that there was some lapse in that the Marie Stopes staff were left alone with the students as he did not expect them to go beyond the guidance and counselling they had requested to conduct.
“Obviously, no one would authorise such a thing in a school. They came with community health workers known to us and we trusted them but we are all trying to establish what happened during the meeting,” he said.
According to angry parents who spoke to the Nation, their daughters, aged between 14 and 17, were duped and subjected to family planning injections.
DEMANDED ARREST
Parents and leaders demanded the arrest of the Marie Stopes staff involved. They also want a reversal of the birth control procedures before they take effect.
One of the parents, Ms Munanie Muusya, whose Form Three daughter was among the students who had Norplant inserted into their skins, said she had withdrawn her from the school to allow specialised treatment.
Mrs Muusya, a Kitui county government employee, said Marie Stopes should be held accountable for any health risks involved.
She said the school principal should be put to task for negligence and surrendering the safety of their girls to strangers.
“We are shocked that this was allowed to happen. What those people did will encourage our young girls to be careless and engage in unprotected sex. They can easily contract sexually transmitted diseases,” she said.
COUNSELLED
However, Ms Harriet Owire, who led the Marie Stopes team, said they only counselled individual students after the main lecture on reproductive health but refused to discuss further claims that they gave the girls birth control pills.
Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua condemned the incident, saying it borders on criminality.
“This is a grave matter. Exposing children to contraceptive treatment of whatever nature without the consent of their parents is unacceptable,” said Mr Wambua.
He urged the Education ministry and its agents to forthwith get to the bottom of the matter and assure parents in Mang’elu and the entire Kitui County that their children are safe in schools.
“I thought the government had banned school visits in the third term. Parents are not even allowed to visit their children in schools this term. I can’t visit children in schools to motivate them as they prepare for exams. But strangers are allowed into a school to administer contraceptives on minors!” he said.
