Kajiado father turns down dowry to keep teen mom daughter in school

In a society where teenage girls, more so those who get impregnated while in school, are viewed through the prism of livestock among other material wealth, a 65-year-old man has set his village in murmurs for rejecting lucrative dowry offers from various men asking for his 15-year-old daughter’s (a teen mother) hand in marriage. The story of Mzee Montoka and his daughter Esther Pilanoi at Olekimunke village in Kajiado West not only indicates a possible change in retrogressive cultural practices but also reflects the determination of a man who chooses to look at life through a different lens, away from that of restocking his drought-wiped-out livestock to ensure her daughter scales the heights of education.