Nairobi News

A 17-year-old boy from Ndunyu village in Meru County is nursing serious injuries after he was burnt with a hot iron.

Benisa Michubu was attacked by young men after forcefully entering an initiate’s seclusion house without undergoing the cut.

It is against the Meru traditions for an uncircumcised boy to approach young initiates’ seclusion house.

According to the traditions, uncircumcised boys who entered seclusion houses were given food to eat and some Uji and later on circumcised.

In case his family was not able to raise the money or if the boy was too young, he was beaten lightly and chased out of the house.

Michubu who comes from a poor family did not face the cut alongside his age mates a week ago since he could not afford the circumcision fee.

The boy had decided to force his circumcision by storming his friends’ seclusion house without knowing what would befall him.

NURSING INJURIES

Speaking to the Daily Nation, the boy said he found two men who used a red-hot panga to inflict burns on various parts of his body as a punishment. He was later circumcised despite the serious burns on his body.

After circumcision, he was taken to his house to nurse the injuries and the wound of circumcision.

A spot check by the Daily Nation in Michubu’s seclusion house established that the wounds had started rotting with a strong stench wafting in the air. By the time of the visit, the boy had not been taken to hospital.

Mr Bernard Muchuke, his caretaker, said he is undergoing hard times with the boy as he has to carry him, feed him like a baby and even take him to the toilet.

“I have to keep on holding him since he cannot sit or sleep. He has burns on his back, laps and other sensitive parts of his body,” he said.

Despite the matter having been reported to the area chief, no action has been taken against them. Mr Thruanira Mbiko, a neighbor, said it was bad that no legal action was taken against the perpetrators.

He called on the leaders in the area to ensure that the victim gets justice.