Children in rural and far-flung areas are the most likely to get in conflict with the law compared to those living in major urban areas, a report has shown.
While the numbers are also fairly significant in the major cities, the National Council on Administrative Justice data show that rural counties are leading in the number of offences where children are the offenders.
Kericho, Kakamega, Nakuru, Murang’a, Kisumu, Uasin Gishu and Mombasa are leading in the number of children violating the law with their cases filed in courts in the period 2023-24.
Kericho had 249 cases, followed by Murang’a at 225, Mombasa at 209, Nakuru 178, Kisumu 102, Uasin Gishu 87, Machakos 88, Nyeri 83 and Kilifi 72, among others.
Nairobi is indicated as having recorded 175 cases of child offences in courts.
Laikipia and Kajiado had one case each while Vihiga and Trans Nzoia had two cases each.
The report also shows how the rate of resolving children-related offences is painfully slow, with only 213 cases resolved out of the 1,881 recorded in the courts nationally and in the entire year.
This leaves 1,663 active cases in the criminal justice system making their way through the chain, with most of the children offenders still detained in juvenile holding centres and borstal institutions.
According to Unicef, children in rural areas are disproportionately likely to commit crimes due to hardship in life, including difficulty in accessing food, water and other basic needs.
They are also exposed to child labour, family dysfunction and inadequate legal protection.
Further, the report shows that the issuance of judicial orders formed the highest percentage of interventions deployed at resolving the child-related offence at 42 per cent.
The report shows 1,019 children are distributed in various centres, with the majority of them in child remand institutions for being in conflict with the law.
The centres are categorised as children rescue centres, children remand homes, reception, assessment and classification centres and lastly rehabilitation schools for the juveniles.
Data sampled by the council from various such institutions shows that the number of admitted children tend to increase but the rates of the children leaving the institutions is equally higher.
The data as at June 2023 show that in five children rescue centres the number of children admitted are 757 while those who exited are 555.
The children remaining in the five facilities was 202.
In nine children remand homes sampled, some 3,620 were admitted as of the period under review but 2,952 exited and 688 children remained.
Further, in two reception, assessment and classification centres
featured in the report, 234 children
were admitted, 212 exited and 22
remained.
