Ruiru MP tells police to crack down on beggars-for-hire syndicate

 

Ruiru MP Simon King’ara has urged authorities to crack down on a syndicate that he said is using disabled children to beg in the streets.

The lawmaker noted that the number of disabled children begging in towns had skyrocketed, pointing a finger at unscrupulous individuals exploiting the minors.

Mr King’ara said the children are placed on streets as early as 5am. A powerful syndicate was behind the unlawful business of using the children to collect money from the public, he said.

“It’s saddening to see that some greedy people who are after riches are leaving nothing to chance, even using the disabled to raise money. Society must rise against these crooked people and protect the disabled in the community,” he said.

Mr King’ara spoke in Ruiru town on Monday when he distributed tricycles to 50 beneficiaries through his Ng’ang’a King’ara Foundation in collaboration with Master Empowerment Center.

He urged Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai and DCI boss George Kinoti to investigate the issue and bring the cartels to book.

Empower the disabled 

Meanwhile, King’ara has appealed to parents not to hide their physically and mentally handicapped children.

The government and non-governmental groups, he said, can help the disabled with mobility devices as well as counseling.

He also advised parents to overcome the stigma of having disabled children, noting that thousands of handicapped children are suffering silently in their homes.

“Some people hide their children because of their physical deformities and forget that they have good brains and they too have wishes and plans for their lives that can be actualised by well-wishers who are willing to offer help,” he said.

Mr King’ara also said that the disabled need to be empowered economically by making deliberate efforts to boost their income.

The beneficiaries who received tricycles expressed their gratitude to the MP and urged the State, the county government and other well-wishers to act on their predicaments.

One of them was Esther Muthoni, who said: “We need support from both levels of government so that we can manage to sustain our families. We are, however, thankful to the kind gesture by the well-wishers for assisting us with mobility devices.”     BY DAILY NATION