Lamu,KENYA:Lamu Principal Magistrate Njeri Thuku has been transferred from the county two years after she was posted.
Thuku who has been in Lamu since March 2016 will now be heading to Nanyuki.
She will be replaced by Allan Temba Sitati from the Milimani Law Courts.
Thuku will especially be remembered for the no nonsense manner she dealt with child defilers and issues to do with drugs,both of which are rampant in Lamu.
She has severally issued life sentences to child defilers and drug peddlers making her loved and hated in equal measure.
Just a week ago,Thuku issued a life sentence to notorious child defiler who was especially fond of sodomising young boys in the region.
The magistrate said she will especially miss the serene Lamu environment but was at the same upbeat about her transfer.
“I have been happy in my stay here in Lamu for the period I was magistrate.My services are now needed in some other part of this great republic but my experience here shall never be forgotten,”said Thuku.
Majority of the locals however expressed disappointment that the ‘great judge’ is being moved at a time when her work had just began to inject sanity into the community.
They termed Njeri as a pivotal organ in the fight against the notorious drug menace in Lamu and wondered what would happen to the efforts she started through her work as principal magistrate.
They also asked the incoming magistrate to brace himself for a tough job especially in as far as issues to do with child defilement are concerned.
Abdalla Omar,a renowned opinion leader in Lamu town says “The incoming magistrate be sure to continue the way Njeri has been doing.We had started seeing some sanity here.The issues of drugs and child defilement here are serious as they com and they don’t need a soft person.She has ensured proper sentences for such criminals and that’s how it should stay.
Last month,the World Vision Office in charge of Education and Child Protection released a startling report that put Lamu fathers of the spot for defiling their own daughters.
According to the report, more than 25 young girls have been defiled and sexually exploited by their own biological fathers between January and May this year.
According to MUHURI,more than 10 children are defiled in Lamu town every single month and almost a similar number of the cases go unreported as parent opt to either pursue out of court arrangements with the culprits or go silent altogether like nothing happened.
Lamu parents are however on the spot for being fond of resolving defilement cases at home or sweeping them under the carpet altogether.
