A Facebook post by a woman who signs herself "Amb Esther Akoth Kokeyo, advocate for family values" is circulating widely among Kenyan social media users. In it she appeals for two children at the centre of an online family dispute to be shielded from public attention. In the screenshot Kijiji News reviewed, the post showed about 25,000 reactions, 4,500 comments and 73 shares.
Kijiji News has not independently verified the dispute, or the identity of the author or of anyone mentioned in the post.
What the post says
The author describes the older child, a girl, as articulate and aware of her rights, and asks whether anyone has stopped to consider what lies beneath her confidence. She calls for professional counselling and for mentors who will protect the child's childhood while nurturing her talent. She adds that the girl's younger brother also deserves privacy and has no duty to entertain the internet.
She addresses the children's father directly, respectfully urging him to slow down on posting pictures and content that involve the children until things calm down. She says she feels for both parents, and she closes with one line that sums up the appeal: "Let us stop turning a child's pain into public entertainment."
Analysis
The post is notable less for new facts than for its argument. It does not set out what the dispute is about. What it offers instead is a standard: the children's interests come before the audience's appetite for drama. That is also the standard in Kenya's Constitution, where Article 53(2) says a child's best interests are of paramount importance in every matter concerning the child.
- The remedy is specific. The author does not take a side. She asks for counselling, mentorship and a pause in posting, all of which the adults involved can act on.
- The audience is part of the story. She argues that online attention can harm a child before anyone notices, so the appeal is aimed at readers and commenters as much as at the parents.
- The tension is plain. The appeal is itself spreading widely online, illustrated with a close-up photograph of a young person, so the attention it warns against is part of how its message travels.
How Kijiji News has handled it
We have not named the children or either parent, and we have not used the photograph attached to the post, because the facts are unverified and the subjects are minors. We have not contacted anyone involved. Anyone who is worried about a child can call Childline Kenya on 116, which is free.
Source: public Facebook post by Amb Esther Akoth Kokeyo (not independently verified).