A family in Naivasha is appealing for help after their son suffered paralysis following an initiation rites ceremony gone wrong.
The boy who underwent traditional circumcision, was nearly maimed by ruffian youths who had gone to visit him eight months ago.
The youth are said to have hit the 15-year-old several times in the head, leaving him fighting for his .
According to the Daily nation, the archaic initiation rites ceremony was aimed at instilling a steely character in the initiate.
The boy’s father, Joseph Kimani, says his last-born son’s condition is shattering him.
“He stayed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for almost a month and two more months before we left the hospital,” said Kimani.
“I could sometimes cry my heart out. I was subjected to the situation by a group of rascals holding onto outdated cultural practices,” he said.
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Huge bill
The boy stayed at Kijabe Mission Hospital, for three months before being discharged, having incurred a bill of Sh1.5 million, which the family cleared.
The boy was to undergo further therapy to help him regain the use of his limbs after the near-fatal incident.
Documents from the hospital show that the teenager suffered “diffuse traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness greater than 24 hours”.
“He also suffered memory loss and cannot recall what transpired on the day he was attacked,” Mr Kimani said.
The family is now forced to hire a therapist to help the boy in his recovery, parting with nearly Sh5,000 every week.
“I have been forced to sell all my sheep to sustain my son. There is nothing more to dispose of and his condition is still a cause for concern,” added Mr Kimani.
He said the boy was brutally beaten by his tormentors while the young man tasked to take care of him remained mum.
“I don’t understand why his mentor let the youths brutalise my son,” he said.
He reported the matter to the police, but the perpetrators have not been apprehended.
“I still meet with some of them roaming freely,” he disclosed.
well wishers help
Kimani lost his casual job in a quarry after he took time off to care for his son.
His wife is now the sole breadwinner of the family of four, two of whom are in secondary school.
“I have no source of income. My primary task now is to take care of my son. He needs 24-hour attention,” he said.
He hopes that his son will get specialised treatment so that he can fully recover and continue his studies.
Kimani hopes that with support from Good Samaritans, his son will be able to walk again, but for now he is financially constrained, hoping against hope that help will come.
