A Member of Embu County Assembly was forced to apologise to women on Thursday after he allegedly recommended girls to undergo genital mutilation to curb sexual immorality.
Salesio Kimaru, MCA Kyeni South, said his words were taken out of context as he was only advocating for retention of culture among Embu women, but not supporting female genital mutilation.
“The remarks in the county assembly were only meant to call for support for alternative rites of passage in Embu to usher young girls into womanhood amid widespread moral decadence,” he said.
The MCA who spoke in the Assembly on Wednesday, sparked public outcry when he argued that the county was experiencing increased cases of immorality and incest, which would only be curbed if all girls underwent the cut.
Mr Kimaru was attacked from all fronts by female lobby groups and Kenyans who questioned his intention to overule the 2010 constitution, which is against circumsicion practices for girls.
