Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga has rubbished circumcision saying it is not compulsory.
Speaking during a consultative meeting with local leaders and ODM party delegates in Teso North, Busia County, Raila said circumcision was brought by religion.
The country’s longest-serving opposition leader further said some of the Bantus especially those in developed countries like South Africa do not take circumcision seriously.
He said those who take circumcision seriously are fools.
“Circumcision is only a Kenyan Bantu thing. It is a trivial matter that came from religion. It was introduced in Kenya to the Bantus through religion. Bantus in DRC do not circumcise the same as in Cameroon and South Africa. Anyone that takes circumcision seriously is a fool,” Raila said.
Circumcision is a surgical procedure that removes the foreskin of the penis.
One 2016 study by Trusted Source estimated that 37–39% of males across the world have undergone circumcision.
The Centre for Diseases Control (CDC) has noted that male circumcision decreases the risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual intercourse by between 50 to 60 percent.
In Kenya, some communities revere male circumcision as an important rite of passage for boys into adulthood while other communities assign no particular importance to it and never practice it.
Last year, controversial lawyer Miguna Miguna rubbished plans for the introduction of a draft bill that seeks to make male circumcision mandatory to primarily help reduce sexually transmitted infections including HIV/Aids.
“You can’t impose a cultural practice of some ethnic groups over others,” Miguna said in a statement.
