Two Tharaka Nithi parents charged for marrying off 16-year-old girl to 20-year-old man

Before the court’s Principal Magistrate Peter Maina, the accused, Peter Murithi, pleaded guilty to the offence.

Judge Maina ruled that he be remanded until Monday next week when judgment will be made and gave him an alternative of paying a Sh100,000 bond.

Murithi’s father, Samuel Gichugu Makembo, and the mother of the teenage girl were also charged for allowing the illicit marriage.

The two will also remain in remand until Monday awaiting judgement or pay a bond of Sh100,000 each.

Cases of early marriages, teenage pregnancies and other forms of abuse of girls are on the rise in the region as the Covid-19 crisis persists.

And with schools closed, many children are allowed to wander in the village.