A man and his wife from Murang’a County have been living a dejected life after they bore three children with mental disabilities, who are now adults.
The family of Simporian Kang’ethe from Muchungucha village in Kiharu Constituency, Murang’a County is said to have been forcibly ejected from their ancestral home in Mugoiri after his wife gave birth to three children, all of whom have mental retardation.
Mr Kang’ethe said he married his wife, Emily Wanjiku, 43 years ago, and they hoped to bear normal children.
But this was not to be as their three children were born with mental disability.
UNKNOWN CAUSES
Unable to understand the condition, Mr Kang’ethe has held the belief that his predicaments emanated from some of his family members who “cursed him” since they bore only one boy while Mr Kang’ethe was “blessed with” two boys.
Mr Kang’ethe says no one else in his family has disabled children.
According to doctors, Mr Kang’ethe’s children suffer from mental retardation, a condition that could have resulted from a number of factors including genetics, congenital abnormalities and idiopathic causes (unknown causes).
NO CURE
Ms Angela Muthoni, a psychiatric nurse at Murang’a County Referral Hospital, told the Nation that the case of Mr Kang’ethe’s children is that of mental retardation that could have occurred during birth or due to unknown causes.
She said that such cases are common and can only be managed and not cured.
“Mental retardation is a situation where children salivate on themselves uncontrollably and exhibit funny characters but are not brutal as compared to those with mental illnesses. The (Kang’ethes) case can only be managed because at their age nothing else can be done,” she said.
The three are aged 40, 35 and 30 years.
BANISHED
Mr Kang’ethe told the Nation how his family was rejected and banished in 1997 due to his children’s condition.
“I was forcibly ejected from my home by my parents and brothers and I ended up being housed by my in-laws before a Good Samaritan, an Italy Catholic nun, bought me quarter acre of land where we eventually settled. But we were still looked down upon by some members of the community who even refused to involve us in communal affairs,” he said.
His wife Wanjiku said that even after being rejected by her husband’s parents, they decided not to tend their marriage and were encouraged to continue loving each other and taking good care of the children, saying that “God knew the reason for blessing them with them”.
WELL-WISHERS
But some well-wishers have been supporting them with basic needs such as food as they cannot leave children alone for long because of their condition.
“The children can’t be left alone and this makes us depend from a few of the villagers who understand our situation,” she said.
One well-wisher, Mr Samuel Murigi, the proprietor of Sampesa Agencies Limited, built a house for the family.
Mr Kangethe said he has taken his children to various hospitals hoping they would get better.
He said doctors told him that his children’s condition cannot be treated but can only be managed.
SPECIAL SCHOOL
He said the fact that no one in his or his wife’s family has mental retardation contributed to the rejection they face from their relatives.
He took his children to special school but since they could not comprehend anything, he pulled them out and stayed with them at home.
It is the predicament of the family that also recently attracted the Kikuyu elders who performed a traditional cleansing ceremony at Mr Kang’the’s home, apparently to drive away the “curse” which might have befallen them.
CAUSES
Mental retardation has been attributed to several causes among them trauma before birth, such as an infection or exposure to alcohol, drugs, or other toxins.
It can also be caused by trauma during birth, such as oxygen deprivation or premature delivery.
At the same time, inherited disorders can bring about mental retardation.