NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 9 \u2013 Authorities have ordered the immediate closure of the Ehsan Rehabilitation Centre following the rescue of a 14-year-old boy and the discovery of alleged child abuse, physical assault, illegal detention and other serious violations at the facility.<\/p>\n
The underage boy was among victims rescued during a dawn raid led by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse in conjunction with a multi-agency team.<\/p>\n
The discovery of the minor at the facility became a central factor in the decision to shut down the rehabilitation centre, with investigators citing violations of child protection laws and treatment standards.<\/p>\n
The operation, which also led to the rescue of eight foreign nationals, established that the six-month-old facility had been admitting underage clients without evidence of legal safeguards, specialised services or compliance with child protection requirements.<\/p>\n
Investigators further established that the minor had allegedly been subjected to physical assault while under the facility\u2019s care.<\/p>\n
NACADA Chief Executive Officer Anthony Omerikwa condemned the actions, describing them as a grave violation of children\u2019s rights and welfare.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe strongly condemn the admission of a 14-year-old child into a rehabilitation facility under circumstances that indicated the minor had been subjected to physical assault. Such actions constitute a grave violation of the rights and welfare of the child and are contrary to the standards governing treatment and rehabilitation services in Kenya,\u201d Omerikwa said.<\/p>\n
The child was immediately rescued and placed under the care of the Department of Children Services for protection and further intervention.<\/p>\n
Investigators also found that the rehabilitation centre had been admitting and managing patients suffering from severe mental illnesses, including Schizophrenia, despite lacking a psychiatrist or specialised personnel required to safely manage such conditions.<\/p>\n
Authorities said the practice exposed patients to significant health risks due to the absence of qualified medical supervision.<\/p>\n
The inspection further uncovered allegations of serious human rights violations, including the existence of a so-called \u201cstrong room\u201d allegedly used to confine clients.<\/p>\n
Officials said the use of such facilities was inconsistent with accepted treatment standards and may amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.<\/p>\n
Investigators concluded that some patients appeared to be punished rather than rehabilitated, raising concerns that the facility operated more as a detention centre than a treatment institution.<\/p>\n
\u201cRehabilitation is a voluntary, therapeutic process founded on respect for human dignity, individual rights and professional standards of care,\u201d Omerikwa said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe involuntary detention of clients, including foreign nationals, without lawful authority or due process is unacceptable and contrary to the principles of ethical treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that every individual seeking help for substance use disorders should be treated with dignity, compassion and in accordance with the law.<\/p>\n
The multi-agency team has since recommended the immediate closure of the facility and referred the matter to law enforcement agencies for further investigations and possible prosecution of those responsible.<\/p>\n
NACADA said it had intensified a nationwide crackdown on rogue rehabilitation centres and warned that institutions found violating the law or endangering the welfare of patients would face firm regulatory and legal action.<\/p>\n
The agency said the operation sends a clear message that the exploitation and abuse of vulnerable individuals seeking recovery services, particularly children, will not be tolerated in Kenya.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 9 \u2013 Authorities have ordered the immediate closure of the Ehsan Rehabilitation Centre following the rescue of a 14-year-old boy and the discovery of alleged child abuse, physical assault, illegal detention and other serious violations at the facility. The underage boy was among victims rescued during a dawn raid led by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146177\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}