A family in Nyeri County is in agony after their child was sent out of school because he has both female and male organs.
The child is now 11 years old. He was born on April 25, 2007. The health card issued at the hospital indicated he was born a boy, his guardian says.
“I have lived with this child’s mother for the past four years, she is the last born of three siblings and when she was born we gave her a boy’s name but now we had to change it to a girl’s name because a doctor told us to,” he said as quoted by the Standard.
A medical report from Neyri County Referral Hospital indicates that on March 18, 2013, the child underwent examination and was found to have both male and female sexual organs.
“The male sexual organ is dormant and no activity noted while the female sexual organ is active which is demonstrated by the child’s characteristics, when passing urine,” the records indicated.
“Meanwhile the child can be identified as a girl to await future development to facilitate easier learning environment.”
The guardian said the child had previously been enrolled in a private school but moved him to a public school in Kiganjo town due to financial constraints.
“I personally took her to the school this term but after the head teacher found out about her condition they demanded a birth certificate and expelled her from the institution,” he said.
The two conflicting medical documents have confused the parents as they are unsure what to indicate as the gender of the child in the birth certificate which must be filled.
“If we indicate she is a boy on her birth certificate, yet she is identified as a girl we shall be lying and there is no option of leaving it blank on the document,” the father plaintively stated.
Nyeri County Deputy director for education Mwangi Kabora in response to the matter said the child has every right to be in school as stipulated under the Basic Education Act on provision of education to all children.
“I have advised the parent to take their child to school as soon as possible as a there is no reason to deny the child access to their rights,” he noted.