Fight to End a Culture of Forced Child Marriages in Kenya Heads to Court

The girls of Samburu County have seen this first hand.  But thanks to a group of courageous Kenyans and our colleagues at the East African Centre for Law & Justice (EACLJ), good men and women are rising up to put a stop to the evil that these young girls face.

Next week, attorneys from our affiliate office in Kenya, the East African Centre for Law & Justice (EACLJ), will be in the Nanyuki High Court representing a group of concerned citizens who are taking a stand against forced child marriages, female genital mutilation (FGM), and a local politician who is exploiting these horrific practices.

John Lepil Lolkile, commonly known in the community as “Lemulugo”, is a member of the County Assembly in Samburu County accused of marrying and impregnating multiple children.

For over a year, our attorneys on the ground in Kenya have been fighting to end the horrific culture of forced child marriages in the Samburu region of Northern Kenya. Our team has rescued girls as young as 10 years old from forced child marriage, female genital mutilation, and a life of rape and slavery. We have filed briefs and are in court ensuring perpetrators of such atrocities are brought to justice. We have filed a statement at the United Nations Human Rights Commission and will be providing testimony at the U.N. in a little over a week about this unlawful practice and what must be done to stop it.

And now we are taking our fight one step further, demanding that the culture of impunity for those in leadership who marry and abuse little girls ends now.  Linking arms with brave citizens of Samburu County, our attorneys will be in court next week to expose the illegal and inhumane actions of this local assembly member, Lemulugo, and demand justice for his victims. 

Yet standing up for what is right comes at a great cost in this region, as many of the petitioners have faced intimidation tactics from Lemulugo and his political cronies.  Attorneys with the EACLJ say Lemulugo is also using his government position to intimidate those who are helping to seek justice for the young girls.

But we will not let this intimidation deter us.  These young girls cry out for justice and security, and our legal team on the ground is doing the hard work to ensure these communities and young girls have a voice in the face of perverse political perpetrators.

We will continue to shine a light into this darkness.  We will not stop until these young girls are safe.

Join us today.