How uncircumcised high school boys are suffering – controversial blogger
Former journalist and Jubilee/Azimio La Umoja allied controversial blogger Wahome Thuku stirred up a storm on social media when he warned parents from Central Kenya (a predominantly Kikuyu tribe region) against enrolling their uncircumcised boys in secondary school.
In his opinion, their sons would not last a week in school after enrollment before they returned home begging to undergo circumcision.
“First, If you are from the Kikuyu community and you have a son joining form one, I hope you have taken him for circumcision. If you have not, don’t be surprised if he comes home early in the term to have the cut. Actually,, if your son is joining form one and he has not gone through the cut, I regard you as a very reckless parent. Na una ndevu (and you have a beard).
And this is not a debate on which circumcision is superior to which one. Those kids don’t know much about that. What will happen is that within a week of reporting, the bigger boys in F2 and F3 will have discovered that your boy is still uncircumcised. He will have the worst time of his life in that school. Psychological torture can lead him to the worst. Take my word,” said Mr Thuku.
He went on to add, “See, my community values circumcision more than life. Even the boys in high school value it as much. But you can’t blame them. With the likes of Moses Kuria as their role models, you can’t expect anything else.”
His sentiments stirred the pot as his followers responded with various reactions. Nairobi News sampled them below:
“You should correct the school. And the school should have mechanism to deal with bullying as well,” said Kemboi Alex.
“By the way, I always encourage parents to do this cut at a very early age, not as a rite of passage but as medical procedure. It is simple,” added Shem Otwabe.
“In primary l schooled with a boy who had passed well and admitted to a national school in Central his father refused the boy to under go the cut upon joining high school the boy was beaten by the other boys till he got mentally unstable till now…the once promising boy his life became wasted…,” revealed Hellen Kariuki.
“If a parent has any intention of having their son circumcised then it should be done at grade 4 or 5. Past that age your son will be subjected to insults by his peers because of your failure as a parent,” added Kimweli Jameth.
“It means that some communities are still way back in the colonial error, gone are the days for such stupid bully and the unnecessary bragging of circumcision,” opined Hosea Kimutai.
Others suggested enrolling boys in secondary schools in other counties where “not much importance” is placed on circumcision until they clear fourth form, unlike where it is ‘inspected’ upon joining form one.
Mr Thuku has been in the recent past been advocating on social media for young males to undergo circumcision. Among many Kenyan tribes, there are seasons in which young boys are gathered together and circumcised as part of rites of passage. These events are often held towards the end of the year.