Nairobi County’s Chief Officer for Environment, Geoffrey Mosiria, is facing backlash after posting a video showing street-connected children allegedly abusing jet fuel.
The video Mosiria shared on his social platforms has drawn strong condemnation from several concerned parties, among them the The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) who termed it as a violation of the rights and dignity of the minors involved.
Through a statement released on Thursday, July 10, the NGEC stressed that showcasing children in vulnerable situations online not only breached their right to dignity but also exposed them to further harm and public shaming.
"Children are not content," NGEC stated. “Public officers parading vulnerable children online violate their rights and further stigmatise rather than support. A camera lens should never replace compassion, policy, or protection.”
Quoting Article 53 of our Constitution and the Children Act (2022), the commission emphasized that every child was entitled to protection from harmful exposure, and freedom from exploitative media profiling.
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“Over 46,000 children in Kenya live on the streets, often invisible, marginalised, and criminalised. Many face abuse, addiction, neglect, and systemic discrimination.”
The Commission further urged the Nairobi City County and the Department of Children Services to take immediate action, emphasizing that what the children need is rehabilitation, shelter, and psychosocial support, not public humiliation.
In the video seen by Nairobileo.co.ke, Mosiria is walking beside one of the boys, questioning his refusal to join school, while lighting on fire a unknown substance in a plastic bottle.
Accompanying the video was a caption calling on the public to help trace the parents or guardians of the boys, whom Mosiria claimed were not only struggling with addiction but also contributing to poor sanitation in the central business district.
"Removing them from the streets not only helps save their lives but also contributes to keeping the CBD clean," Mosiria wrote. “Many of them are used by shop owners to illegally dump garbage, and the places where they sleep are often left littered with the materials they use as bedding."
