Police rescue child bride, 9, arrest 40-year-old man while on honeymoon

Police in Narok County on Monday rescued a nine-year-old girl who had been married off to a 40-year-old man.

The suspect identified as John Nchoe was apprehended following a tip off from a local children rights activist.

The man and the minor, who were married for a week, were ambushed while in their ‘honeymoon’ manyatta.

During interrogation at Narok Police Station, the seemingly unremorseful suspect said he had paid dowry and that his parents in-law had allowed him to marry the nine-year-old, thus wondering why he had been arrested.

The girl, on the other hand, told police she had tried to refuse a ceremony to marry her off since she wanted to pursue her education but her pleas were rejected.

The activist, Joshua Ole Kaputa, who is also a peace ambassador in Narok, said he had warned Nchoe through his brothers against marrying the girl.

Relatives of the man led by a woman believed to be the suspect’s mother had tried to disrupt the arrest but were repulsed by the police.

Investigations into the incident are ongoing with the suspects expected to be arraigned in court.

The incident comes in the wake of a report released by the Ministry of Education showing the rate of admission of girls from semiarid areas into schools lags behind compared to boys.