Female circumcisers in Wajir have been told to abandon the harmful practice, or they will be prosecuted.
Speaking in Wajir town on Tuesday, Wajir county commissioner Jacob Narengo said the government has already profiled the circumcisers and identified them by location and village. He told them to surrender their tools of trade before action is taken against them.
He also said parents who subject their children to FGM should be arrested and charged.
The administrator said the government aims to eliminate FGM by 2022 and this calls for the full support and cooperation of everybody, including parents.
Narengo also urged local administrators to be more proactive in ending FGM in the region.
“I have said this in previous meetings with you and I will repeat that the buck stops with you, the local administrators. You are the government’s eye on the ground," he said.
"For us to end this retrogressive practice, you must be at the forefront of ensuring that these people [circumcisers] and the parents who are known to be carrying out the exercise are all arrested, and we take them to court,” he said.
Last month, the government raised concerns over an increase in cases of female genital mutilation in the county.
During a meeting organised by the Anti-FGM Board, it was revealed that 110 girls under 18 years have undergone the cut since June.
Statistics show that 9.5 million girls below the age of 18 are cut every year. The Somali community leads at 98 per cent, followed by the Samburu at 94 per cent.
Narengo also warned those handling rape and defilement cases through traditional mechanisms commonly known a maslah, saying that such matters should be taken to court.
Edited by A.N