Two Assistant Ministers To Be Circumcised!

[Ab-Titchaz]

Two Assistant ministers to be circumcised​

Updated 3 hr(s) 1 min(s) ago

By John Oywa and Kepher Otieno

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has launched a massive campaign to rally Luo men to face the knife as part of a strategy to fight HIV/Aids, with two ministers heeding his call.

Finance Assistant minister Oburu Oginga and his Education counterpart Ayiecho Olweny said they would be circumcised next week to bolster the campaign.

The ministers were speaking at a health conference attended by the PM and medical researchers at the Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on Monday.

They said they had decided to face the knife to prove that it was no longer cultural, but a health issue.

"If this thing is good, then I am going for it," Prof Olweny told a cheering audience. Dr Oburu, Raila’s elder brother and MP for Bondo, followed suit and caused prolonged laughter when he urged other Luo men not to fear the knife.

"I am going to be cut next week. I am assuring you I will go, no matter how painful it will be," Oburu said.

He added: "We cannot cling to repugnant traditions for years while our people die at an alarming rate of HIV/Aids-related diseases. It is wrong, we must change."

Monday’s meeting brought to an end the controversy over the proposal to have Luo men circumcised after elders, who had opposed the move, softened their stand.

The elders had opposed mass circumcision among the Luos, saying it was against the community’s culture.

The elders had claimed that the campaign, though well intended, had been politicised by some people, who used it to belittle the community.

But on Monday, the elders, led by their chairman Mzee Riaga Ogallo, said they supported the move after listening to candid presentations by medical experts.

The researchers, who included Prof Achola Ndinya and Prof Alloys Orago, tabled figures showing that circumcision among males reduced the HIV/Aids infection rate by up to 60 per cent. However, Raila led the audience in resolving that the decision would be voluntary.

"We have resolved today that we embrace the male cut, but that it remains voluntary. No one will be coerced to go for it," Raila said.

New practices

MPs who attended the function organised by the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation said culture would not prevent Luos from adopting life-saving practices.

"It is an issue of medical necessity and not culture," said Lands minister James Orengo.

And Medical Services Minister Anyang’ Nyong’o said circumcision costs would be made as cheap to encourage more people to go for it.

Raila said he had met stiff criticism over his campaign to have the Luo to circumcise, but said he had no regrets since he wanted to save his people.

There was a light moment as the MPs at the meeting confessed how they had faced the knife in different circumstances.

Prof Nyong’o said a doctor friend circumcised him when he was a student at Makerere University, while Orengo said he was forced to face the knife when he fell sick after being released from jail.

Others at the meeting included Public Services minister Dalmas Otieno, MPs Jakoyo Midiwo, Olago Aluoch, Shakeel Shabir, Pollyns Ochieng and Fred Outa.

The Standard | Online Edition :: Two Assistant ministers to be circumcised

 

[Ladslaus Modest]

Ni vyema kila mwanamume kutahiriwa maana hata Yesu alitahiriwa.

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Nyanza men rush to hospital for circumcision​

Updated 55 min(s) ago
By Standard Team

The number of men seeking circumcision in Nyanza has increased by 60 per cent.

The rush for the cut began on Monday after researchers tabled evidence at a conference in Kisumu, showing that male circumcision reduced HIV infections by 60 per cent.

On Tuesday, a senior surgeon at the Nyanza Provincial Hospital Otieno Obondi said with the 60 per cent increase in number of those seeking the operation the drive could be disastrous, unless the campaigners worked closely with surgeons.

Queues are growing and health workers are calling for provision of more surgical facilities as the number of men seeking circumcision soared in Kisumu.

A day after Prime Minister Raila Odinga launched a campaign to have Luo men circumcised to help contain the spread of HIV, several people reported to local health facilities for the cut.

Fragile issue

"This is a fragile surgical issue and not a socio-cultural and political matter as some people may perceive it. It is the surgeons and hospital staff who will ensure the safety of the patients," Obondi said.

He added: "It is not how many people are circumcised but how safe they will be after undergoing the operation."

Private hospitals charge Sh2, 000 per operation while the fees is lower in Government hospitals.

Some NGOs are carrying out the exercise free of charge. Others even give incentives for those brave enough to face the knife.

Obondi said there was a risk of many people, especially those in the rural areas, turning to quacks for the cut.

"We must plan for the post-operation care and that is why surgeons must be involved in the campaign," he added.

Obondi disclosed they were handling between six to ten cases a day.

A spot check by The Standard found many young people queuing to be circumcised at the Lumumba Health Centre and other hospitals.

Mr Kennedy Onyango, found on the queue at Lumumba health centre said his girlfriend had given him a condition to face the knife or they split. Obondi said some NGOs might attempt to turn their offices into circumcision centres to attract funding.

Personal decision

While launching the Voluntary Male Circumcision campaign in Kisumu on Monday, Raila said the issue was not communal, but a personal issue.

He said male cut would not erode the community’s cultural heritage as it was purely a medical issue and should not be entangled in cultural politics.

Prof Kawango Agot of the Nyanza Reproductive Health Society disclosed that 15 per cent of uncircumcised men were at a higher risk of contracting HIV than those cut.

On Monday, Assistant Ministers Oburu Odinga and Ayiecho Olweny said they would be circumcised next week to bolster the campaign.

Several MPs supported the campaign but called for urgent installation of surgical facilities in public hospitals.

MPs Jakoyo Midiwo, Pollyns Ochieng’, Olago-Aluoch, Shakeel Shabir and Fred Outa also asked the Government to post more medical officers to the health facilities.

"We must now equip our health centres if this campaign is to succeed. We must avoid a situation where our people die after visiting quacks," said Mr Outa, the MP for Nyando.

He added: "It is not Raila pushing us to get circumcised. We are doing it after seeing scientific findings."

 

[NaimaOmari]

kuna a certain tribe in uganda ... from mbale ... if a man is not circumcised .. that is from their tribe ... usually hawa wasomi who migrate to other areas kwa ajili ya shule .. wakirudi tu . .the elders investigate kama ulitahiriwa ... and if they have to ask your wife , they will do it ... then wanakuvamia hata ofisini wanakuvua nguo parade you in the streets and finally yanakukata

They have a very interesting tradition maana those who are supposed to be initiated wanajipamba na majani .. they walk long distances to make pale numb, and finally wanasimama infront of the whole communitity hands akimbo ... yani mikono kiunoni .. then the elders just cut ...wala mhusika hapepesi wala hatikisiki .. then ndugu wanakuondoa ... build you a small hut then wanakuhudumia mpaka unapona

Its a brave thing for a man to do ! from here wachumba wanapanga foleni kwa the bravest of them all ..

 

[Ladslaus Modest]

Its a brave thing for a man to do ! from here wachumba wanapanga foleni kwa the bravest of them all ..

Waambie Dada yangu Naima, Hata yale makabila ya kikwetu (kama sisi wahaya, sisi wajaluo, n.k.) wasiotahiri (wanaume), ninawasihi waanze huu utamaduni mara.

Kwa sisi Wamasai kama hujatahiri (mwanaume) huna tofauti na mtoto.

Nawatakieni kila la heri.