"We would like to make our voice heard with regard to the above subject. We take great exception to the main message of Sauti Soul’s song, NEREA. 

The obvious aim of this song is to shame people into believing that abortion is wrong. While we acknowledge that Sauti Soul is a talented and famous group, they should not use this talent and fame to stereotype women who have procured an abortion as selfish or immoral. The also seeks to bully women who would want to procure abortions so that they are overwhelmed by shame and intimidation to the degree that they don’t seek safe abortion health care services. It further dehumanized abortion providers, many of whom are qualified doctors in our Kenyan hospitals.

If we allow this stigma to persist, it can lead to social, medical, and legal marginalization of abortion care in Kenya and is a barrier to access to high quality, safe abortion care.

Another aspect of this song is the notion that children come from god. This is a very dangerous notion for a religious society like Kenya since it has the potential of making parents be complacent about family planning. Family planning is important for the health of a mother and her children, as well as the family's economic situation. The financial consequence of having children involves the medical costs of pregnancy and birth and the high costs associated with actually bringing up children. Since parents are responsible for providing education, shelter, clothing and food for their children, family planning has an important long-term impact on the financial situation of any family.

The message in this song is, therefore, counterproductive to the efforts made by various interest groups and the government to educate Kenyans on the need to use contraceptive methods in planning their families.

The message in this song is misleading and potentially harmful to the Kenyan society."

Atheists In Kenya