Man chains himself to Dedan Kimathi’s statue with a message to President Uhuru Kenyatta

September 14, 2020

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A man chained himself to Dedan Kimathi’s statue in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) on Monday, September 14, with a message to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The unidentified man held a placard bearing a message for Uhuru about the country’s growing number of teenage pregnancies.

“Over 150K teenage pregnancies in a period of four months! Kenya is losing a generation by not addressing teenage pregnancies candidly,” read the placard.

Police were called to the scene, trying to get him disengaged from the monument, where they spent some time.

The total number of teenage pregnancies registered between January and May 2020 is 151,433 compared to 175,488 for the same duration in 2019, according to data from the Kenya Health Information Management System (KHIS)

Meanwhile, Uhuru has held a strong stance on underage pregnancy, noting that those who have impregnated minors across the country will pay for their crimes.

Kenyans had different reactions to his protest style with some calling it a move to gain him fame.

Others, however, acknowledged that the country has more pressing issues to address than teenage pregnancies, many of which blame parents for the crisis.

“There are more important things to talk about than pregnancies. Parents should talk to their boys and girls. How do you expect the government to help you within this matter? Deploy police in every household? Let’s focus on our economy and how we will create jobs,” stated Zian Kama.