Catholic archbishop Anthony Muheria has called for intensified monitoring of the internet to prevent exposure of illicit material to children which has continued to corrupt their minds
Speaking at Our Lady of Consolata Cathedral Church in Nyeri on Sunday, the archbishop said with the children home after closing school, they are likely to access harmful material for their young minds and should be controlled.
He said that unlike the old days, illicit content has found its way on social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter making it easily accessible given that school going children have access to social media platforms.
“There is dirty content flowing in social sites, and no one is complaining or making noise about it. Children are watching pornographic content and is stealing the minds of these young minds. Let us have some control,” he said.
According to a report by the National Plan of Action to Tackle Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (OCSEA), more that 12 million children in Kenya have access to adult pornography online.
The report noted that most children were using their parents’ and friends’ phones and school computers to watch pornographic content on the internet.
He called on the government to conduct a crackdown on cyber fraud that is poisoning the young people.
In addition, Archbishop Muheria lamented that drug selling was now being conducted in the full glare of the administration.
He noted that though miraa is a revenue generating avenue for the government it is now among the most abused drugs among the youth alongside bhang and injectable drugs.
Those that are peddling the drugs he said were well-known in the communities and were being ‘protected’ from arrest and prosecution.
“We are destroying a generation and shortchanging them… because all these drugs ruin the ability to think and that is why they can solve basic problems due to heavy reliance on drugs,” he said.
He then called out chiefs and police officers for not arresting those peddling drugs within the community despite public outcry.
“On many occasions we have seen these people taken to the police station and within hours they are bailed out without any consequence. This has to change so that we can safeguard the future generation from ruins,” he added.
He called on parents, leaders, government and the church to take responsibility and help in addressing the issues plaguing the youth.
