The council of elders from Nyamira and Tharaka Nithi counties have blamed female nurses for being a major stumbling block in the fight against the Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the two counties.
The elders said their efforts to eradicate the vice have been sabotaged by the nurses who were carrying out the rite secretly for monetary gains.
The elders, who met at a Nyamira hotel to share ideas on how to deal with the menace, recommended stiff penalties for those found perpetrating the vice.
Tharaka Nithi county Njuri Ncheke Secretary General Edward Kamunde, Chairman Wilfred Makenya and Treasurer Simion Mwamba who led the elders from the Meru region said they have vowed to fight FGM which they termed as retrogressive and outdated in the current society.
Kamunde said they were working with the church leaders and the provisional administration with the view to eradicate the vice.
The Abagusii council of elders Chairman James Araka Matundura, who led the elders from Nyamira county, challenged women in the area to take a leading role in fight against the FGM.
Matundura said it was disappointing that women who are supposed to be taking a centre stage in the fight against FGM were fueling it.