The death of a one-month-old child after being circumcised has raised legal, social and moral questions that the country should face with maturity. The mother and father of the child must be going through the most difficult experiences of their lives. The trauma is increasing because of the legal implication of the death. There is of course presumption of innocence until when the accused is proven guilty or admits guilt.
Notwithstanding, the debate on what tradition is to be maintained or rejected should continue. All traditions that are harmful to human beings are not fit to be maintained and every harm that is proven to be done should be pointed out and relied on to educate the people to know the reasons why a particular harmful tradition should be a thing of the past and should cause no tragedy now or in the future.
We therefore hope that the evidence gathered regarding the death of the child will serve as a reminder of what could happen if harmful traditional practices are exercised.
It should be emphasised that both parents and their child are victims. People tend to conform when they are sanctioned for abandoning their traditions. When the traditions are harmful their conformity could also lead them to conflict with the law. This is why dialogue is necessary to prevent such recurrence.
