Nakuru Catholic nun held for blocking measles jab on pupils
What you need to know:
- Sr Cecilia Kamau, the headmistress of the Catholic sponsored St Anthony Academy was arrested by public health officials.
- Mr King'ori said he took the action following complaints from parents from five Catholic sponsored schools.
- The parents said the schools' managements had refused to allow their children to be immunised.
- Mr King’ori confirmed that all other religious groups who earlier opposed polio immunisation had now complied with the Ministry of Health directive.
A Catholic nun was Monday evening arrested for obstructing the ongoing immunisation campaign against measles and rubella in Bahati Constituency, Nakuru County.
Sr Cecilia Kamau, the headmistress of the Catholic sponsored St Anthony Academy was arrested by public health officials for blocking the immunisation of over 700 pupils.
Nakuru County public health official Samuel King'ori, who was accompanied by police officers in storming the institution said, he took the action following complaints from parents from five Catholic sponsored schools in the region saying that their managements had refused to allow their children to be immunised.
Among the schools on the spot include Christ the King schools, Loreto and Elimu academies which the health officials said were resisting the immunisation contrary to the Public Health Act.
OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUPS COMPLY
Mr King’ori further confirmed that unlike in the previous polio vaccination, all other religious groups, apart from a few Catholic schools in the region, had complied with the Ministry of Health directive.
He said that the county had already achieved 91 per cent success in the ongoing campaign on its 9th day and was targeting a 100 per cent success by the end of the exercise.
“The government is spending a lot of money on treatment of these preventable diseases and it will be proper for parents who have not taken their children for immunisation to do so before end of the exercise,” said the health official.
The nun will be arraigned in court on Tuesday to face charges of endangering lives of children under her care.
