Ms Margaret Karungaru Gachagua
By Our Reporter
The ever increasing incidents of suicide and homicide are worrying and require urgent intervention.
The government should among other things, declare the pandemic a national disaster and outline various ways of addressing the menace.
Nyeri County pioneer First Lady Margret Karungaru Gachagua says incidents related with mental health have of late been on the rise and Kenyans should not take them as normal occurrence any more.
In a statement, Ms Karungaru who is eying the Nyeri Women Representative seat in the coming General Election said there is a need to ease access to mental institutions and destigmatize those suffering from the condition and do away with current red tape bureaucracy associated with those who run such facilities.
The former First Lady who is running for the seat as an The Independent candidate further want Church leaders and politicians to address Mental Health issue constantly in their gathering.
Once elected, Karungaru has vowed to push for easy access to free counselling for all.
She also observed that the government should ensure Gender Based Violence (GBV) centers opened in the last few years within police stations are operational and have trained officers to deal with victims.
She noted that the law enforcement officers should be responsive to GBV cases and to have punitive interventions for the perpetrators.
“If elected I will present a policy paper on establishment of safe houses for abuse victims, I visited one such house in Washington as Nyeri Fxirst Lady and I know it means a lot for the victims. We should have such here also,” Karungaru said.
If she wins the seat, she will ensure a counsellor employed by National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF) to give free sessions to those in need in the county.
“Whenever I hold a meeting the counsellor would be present to speak on issues mental health. I will also ensure that a law is passed address misogyny,” disclosed Ms Karungaru
She has been traversing the county seeking support from locals in her bid to be the third Women Representative in the county.
Ms Karungaru who is counting on among others her performance as the first lady and her mobilisation skills will face it with among others, the Incumbent Ms Rahab Mukami who is defending her seat on UDA ticket, Jacinta Wahome of The Service Party (TPS), Ms Njeri Njoori of Jubilee party and Rose Waikundi.
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