Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta has expressed concern over the increasing number of single parents in Kenya.
At the nation’s 59th anniversary of the Madaraka Day, held at the retouched Uhuru Gardens, Kenyatta spoke about upholding the nation’s traditional values in his final national event as Kenya’s President.
He said between 2009 and 2019, the number of single parents rose by 13% in 10 years and is a dangerous trend capable of harming the most vulnerable members of the society – children.
“Equally important to highlight is the threat to our traditional values and the family as the basic unit of our society. The evolving face of the Kenyan family is characterized in the 2019 national census where families headed by single parents rose from 25.1 percent in 2009 to 38.2percent in 2019,” he said.
“If unchecked, this trend shall destroy the fundamental character of Kenya and reap untold harm onto our most vulnerable and precious members of society, our children.”
He called on leaders of communities and traditional institutions to help plug the loopholes and uphold the values that have long made Kenya the country it is.
Various research reports point to Kenya as having one of the highest number of children born out of wedlock in Africa.
The nation’s national teenage pregnancy rate stands at 18% according to a Kenyan Health Survey while nearly 15% of adolescent women in the country had given birth.