How Emergence Of Criminal Gangs Is Fueling Spike In Teenage Pregnancies In Nakuru

The dreaded confirm criminal gang operating in some parts of Nakuru City is known for all kinds of illegal activities among them drug trafficking, murder, robbery with violence and mobile money fraud.

Nakuru county police commander Peter Mwanzo says the gang mostly operates in densely populated estates on the East and West side of the city.

“Majority Members of the gang are mostly teenagers looking for quick wealth and youth who dropped out of school,” said Mwanzo.

According to Mwanzo, members of the confirm criminal gang have become an attraction to young teenage girls within the estates something he says is pushing teenage marriages up.

“They have easy money earned through illegal means and this is the bait that lures young girls into such relationships,”

Gangs and teen pregnancies

In estates like Flamingo, Baharini, Kivumbini and Bondeni, criminal gangs are being linked to a spike in the number of teenage pregnancies.

Alex Maina*, a community policing member within Flamingo estate says that the criminal  gang members are known for “using illegally earned money to lure young girls into casual sexual relationships”.

Maina says the gang is known for hosting discreet drinking and sex parties where young girls engage in casual sex something he observes has led to an increase in teenage pregnancies.

“So many young girls in these estates are in relationships with these gang members but no one dares report because of the fear the gang has instilled in people,’’ said Maina

He added “some fear reporting because it is rumoured that the gang has informers within the police”.

The aftermath

In 2021, Maryanne*,16 was forced to drop out of school in form two after she got pregnant.

She says the late father of her 9-month-old baby was a member of the confirm gang.

“He would give me money and bought me anything I wanted and that made me feel secure and loved,” she narrates

MaryAnne did not tell her single mother about her pregnancy. She only learned about it after she dropped out of school and disappeared from home

Her mother Angeline Awuor says her daughter never showed any signs of being in a sexual relationship

“She was a silent girl and loved church,”

“I only realized she was pregnant after she dropped out of school and ran away from home. Her friend led me to where she was and she broke the news to me,”

Angeline did not however bother to report the case to authorities because her daughter’s boyfriend agreed to marry her.

MaryAnne’s boyfriend was killed in a fight between two rival gangs in Kwa Rhonda estate in Nakuru early this year.

Nakuru has a higher teenage pregnancies rate than the whole country combined.Photo/Courtesy

Peer pressure

For 17-year-old Ashley Nyambu*, peer pressure dragged her into a relationship with a gang member.

“I knew he was a confirm gang member, but he loved me,” she says.

Ashley’s life took a turn, she started partying heavily and skipping school and in no time she was pregnant.

She dropped out of school in 2021 and moved in with her boyfriend, but things went south after her boyfriend was arrested with stolen goods in December 2021. He was sent to prison for two years.

Ashley could not afford to pay her house rent and no option but to return to her parents’ house.

Glady, they accepted her back.

Harsh economic times

16-year-old Cindy Rugene* says poverty pushed her into the trap of a confirm gang member.

Cindy needed money for her school fee but her mother who is a hawker in Nakuru town could not raise it at that time

“I approached one gang member who was so generous and asked him for help. He agreed to pay my school fees on condition that I became his girlfriend,”

Cindy agreed and would spend most of her weekends with the man.

She realized she was pregnant after missing her menses for two months and this forced her to drop out of school.

Her pregnancy however developed complications that almost caused her life. It was terminated

“After dropping out of school, drugs become my consolation and that destroyed my pregnancy,’’ she says.

Cindy observes that quick money and lure of soft life is what leads many young girls into the traps of the gang members

“The gang members are generous, and most girls fall for them because of the money,” she said

She adds that most gang members have multiple girlfriends within the same estate

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Rising numbers

Data from the maternal clinic at the Langalanga hospital in Nakuru East shows that   4 out of 10 visits every month are of teenage pregnancies and mothers between 13 and 17 years.

In 2020 alone Nakuru county reported 1,748 teen pregnancies

Clara Kerich, Nakuru county maternal head nurse says the rise in  teenage pregnancy was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic

“Many of the young girls were too idle during the pandemic and this left the exposed,’’ she said

Kerich said that since 2020, Nakuru Town East and West has been recording an upsurge in the number of teenage pregnancies being reported .

“For every 10 first time maternal clinic visits in the two sub counties, 4 to 5 are of girls below the age of 18 years,’’ she said.

She noted that limited access to family planning makes the situation worse.

Remedy

Nakuru county police commander Peter Mwanzo says that it is difficult for authorities to act on the gang because most of the criminal acts they commit go unreported.

“It becomes difficult for legal action to be taken if the girls and their parents fail to report such violations,’’

At the same time Mwanzo also blames a section of politicians who he says will always bail out any criminal  gang member arrested ad presented before court

He regrets that “Political protection of gang members is working against efforts by security forces to handle the gang menace”

“Majority of cases involving confirm gang members end up being dropped because potential witnesses will at some point withdraw after being threatened or bribed,’’Mwanzo said.

Nakuru County Children Services’ Director Alice Wanyonyi says laxity by parents is fuelling the increasing number of teenage pregnancies in the county.

“A parent will know that their teenage daughter is involved with a gang member, but they will not bother taking any action. It is saddening because parents have normalised the vice, ’she said.

The Young African Women Initiative (YAWI)  a local civil society organization based in Nakuru, has been working to offer psychosocial therapy, to new and expectant  teenage mothers.

Anita Kariuki, Resource Mobilization officer at YAWI, says some expectant teenage girls and teenage  mothers  struggle with  mental issues due to rejection from families, friends and their boyfriends.

YAWI has initiated a progamme of empowering teenage mothers through various income-generating activities

And Perturbed by the high number of teen pregnancies, a section of civil societies in Nakuru  under the Nakuru Reproductive Health Network formed a technical committee to develop a mechanism that will help  curb the vice.

Nakuru County Reproductive Health Network secretary Cosmas Mutua  says parental neglect, inappropriate forms of recreation, low self-esteem, use of alcohol and substance abuse are pushing young girls to engage in  risky sexual affairs  with criminal gang members .

“Majority of these  girls don’t have the ability to negotiate for safer sex. What happens to them is purely sexual based violence,” said Mutua.

Mutua says it will take concerted efforts of the government, society, and parents to correct what he describes as an unfortunate situation.

“The problem  is not only teenage pregnancies and marriages, but these young girls are staring at a possibility of contracting sexually transmitted disease  and this must be corrected,’’ he said.

Nakuru county woman representative Liza Chelule says solving the problem of teenage pregnancies requires a multisectoral approach.

“If we all play our role, this problem will be sorted” she says.

Chelule notes that elected women leaders in the county are mulling at initiating and sponsoring teenage clubs in schools and churches which will be used as avenues of educating young girls on the dangers of engaging in early sexual activities

“Through such clubs we can have women who are role models in the society come and talk to these young girls ,this might help them see the need of having focus in life,’ she said.

“Most of these young girls are lured into early sexual activities because they simply lack guidance,”

On the issue of criminal gangs, she observes that leaders must stop shielding gang members from prosecution if the problem is to be dealt with.

“It is our duty as leaders to support our security apparatus in dealing with confirm gang and always condemn them,”