The Judiciary has called for a child protection unit at Naivasha police station to deal with the rising cases involving minors.
The Judiciary has identified informal settlements in the town as leading in cases of child abuse especially defilement, abandonment, assault and neglect.
The concern emerged during the launch of the Children's Service Month at the Naivasha law courts, with cases involving minors being prioritised in November.
Judge Grace Nzioka said close to 150 criminal cases were being handled in the facility.
She termed the number as worrying, adding that the Judiciary was keen to work with stakeholders to reduce the case backlog.
The judge said failure by witnesses to show up in court and poor investigations were jeopardising cases.
“At the Naivasha law courts we have 143 criminal cases involving minors and the situation has been worsened by lack of a child protection unit,” she said.
Nzioka said that the society, influence of social media and peer pressure had played a part in the rising criminal cases involving minors.
“It’s our responsibility to protect these minors from the current society which has little room for them, hence the rising number of abuse cases,” she said.
Naivasha principal magistrate Juliana Ndeng’eri said sexual abuse was leading among criminal cases facing minors.
She said that Naivasha, being a transit town, had contributed to the cases of child trafficking with some of the victims being ferried from Congo and Rwanda.
“We have seen a rise in cases of child abuse and some of the estates like Kihoto, KCC, Karagita, Mithuri and Ngondi are leading,” she said.