Rampant open defecation cases among the pastoralist communities have been cited as one of the key contributors to rape, defilement and prevalent disease outbreaks in Marsabit County.
While speaking yesterday during celebrations to mark the World Toilet Day in Ngurnit Location, Laisamis Sub County in Marsabit County, the County Chief Officer in charge of public health Omar Mohammed held that 70 percent of the communities living in at least 1,343 villages across the county were still practicing open defecation. He was concerned that most of the contagious waterborne disease outbreaks could be attributed to open defecation.
Pastoralist Community Development Assistance (PACIDA) WASH Manager Amina Isacko recounted how the rampant bush defecation cases have exposed women and girls to rape or defilement cases in the region, as likelihood of wayward morans pouncing on them while they help themselves in the thickets is very high.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Laisamis Sub-county Public Health Officer Redento Daballen who pointed an accusing finger to the rogue Morans who still remained resistant to the use of toilets.
PACIDA WASH Coordinator Samuel Lentoror linked the resistance to toilet use among the pastoralist communities to some retrogressive cultural beliefs. For instance, the Samburu and Rendille communities in the region loathed sharing a toilet with in-laws as they perceived it as a taboo.
Laisamis Sub-county Community health promoter Lilly Elekada also blamed negative traditional beliefs for curtailing the use of toilets use among the various pastoralist communities in Marsabit and the larger Northern Kenya region.
