Kisii boys taken through circumcision rites amid MPs' bid to make it mandatory under medical supervision

For the Abagusi community, male circumcision, is a vital rite of passage, ranked second after birth. 

Wananchi Reporting set out from Kisii town for Manga escarpment with an aim of understanding what happens during the traditional rite of passage and its significance. 

Inside a traditional hut is where the rite of passage is carried out under strict supervision of elders. 

We find one of the young boys bracing themselves for the rite undertaken on boys aged 10 to 15 years.

The rite is undertaken to protect the community and their families as explained by Ochoi Nyambasora, an elder. 

“According to Abagusi culture, the initiates are expected to take the mantle of protecting the community against external aggression in addition to their family roles,” he said.

The initiates are then paraded for not less than 30 minutes in a procession to their temporary residence for a period of two weeks. 

Along the road, it is song and dance from peers and women in traditional regalia. 

For those whose children are transitioning to another age group, more often than not, they carry farm pangas for ease of identification. 

This comes at a time when sections of MPs are planning to table a bill in Parliament to enact a mandatory medical male circumcision for all boys to avoid cases of sexually transmitted diseases which is said to be on an upward trajectory among the youth.