By Okong’o Oduya
Busia County, Kenya: 68 teenage girls have been rescued from early marriages in Busia County since March 2020, reports have revealed.
According to Mary Makokha, Director Rural Empowerment Education Program, parents have failed in playing their responsibilities as parents and gave a lot of room for girls and boys to cohabit without their involvement.
In an interview with Talk Africa in her office, Ms. Makokha noted that children below the age of 18 years are engaging in extramarital affairs and their parents don’t take any action against them.
“When schools closed in March as a result of the covid-19 pandemic we have so far rescued 68 children from marriages. This is happening under the parent’s watch. You find a young boy has brought a girl into her house and his parents don’t take any action to know why the two are staying together yet they are minors. The boy’s parents don’t take any initiative to inquire from the girl’s parents why the girl is in their home,” she said.
In Budalangi, Florence Nanjala is blaming Assistant Chief Magombe sub-location for allowing his son to cohabit with her 14-year daughter. Florence says it is wrong for the boy’s father to allow his form three students to stay together with her daughter’s standard 7 pupils at Nanjomi primary school.
She says her daughter disappeared not knowing her whereabouts only to be found at the assistant chief’s home after two weeks.
“You are a leader, you should give direction and advice, how could he have allowed the two minors to stay together in the name of a couple? This girl is so young to stay in someone’s home as a wife under the administrator’s watch. How do you even expect a 14-year girl to prepare food for you as your son’s wife? I will not sit down and watch as if nothing happen” she paused.
Defilements without justice
Victims of defilement in Busia County are blaming the police officers for a letdown when seeking justice especially when the case is involving rich and prominent persons.
Charles Juma, a resident of Ganga village in Samia Sub-County, narrates how her granddaughter, mentally challenged, by then was 16 years old; a pupil at St. Catherine Nangina’s special school was defiled by a military officer in February 2018.
According to him, Gilbert Ochieno, a military officer at Kakhawa garrison and a neighbor called the family and informed them that he will take the girl to Khakati barracks camp for a medical check-up, but instead, he took the girl to his house and defiled her.
When they realized that the girl had been defiled he took her to Buburi community health center where it was confirmed that indeed she was defiled later reported the matter at Sio Port police station which never proceeded to court.
“It was one Sunday when I received a call from my neighbor, Gilbert Ochieno claiming that he was going to take my grandchild for a medical checkup and Khakati military barracks. Unfortunately, he took the girl to his house and defiled her.”
“When we later learned that she had been defiled we took her to Buburi community health center then we proceeded to report the matter at Sio port police station. But the case never went to court as we talk. I was taken in circles until I gave up the chase,” he sorrowfully narrated.
Juma says police officers resolved to engage the perpetrator and that is when they changed the statement that the girl must have been defiled.
Benedict Odhiambo Butula resident says her 15-year-old girl was gang-raped by 5 men in 2016 and when he reported the matters to the police at Bumala police station and eventually went to court the suspects were acquitted, citing lack of enough evidence.
He blamed police officers for carrying out shoddy investigations of the acquittals of suspects off the offenses.
“It was 2016 on the first of January; my daughter was waylaid by five men on her way home and defiled her on the evening of the 1st of January 2016. When they finished the girl went into hiding and spent the night in the bush, and early the following morning is when she regained strength and sought help from the neighborhood.
When I was informed about what happened to my daughter, I took her to Khunyangu health center and indeed the medical report revealed that indeed she had been used.
I reported the matter to Bumala police station and the culprits were apprehended and taken to court but were later released in unclear circumstances when I asked I was told there was no enough evidence to amount prosecution to the suspects,” he said
According to him, conflicting reports from the police weakened the case.
He says the first 4 people were charged with gang-raping after the acquittal the last person was arrested only to be told he was accused of attempted rape, a different account from what the other four were charged with yet they were together on the day of action.
He claimed that when the last person was arrested, who he says was the area chief’s son, he was approached by the family members offering him up to sh200, 000 to give room for the matter to be handled out of court, an offer he turned down. A move he says cost him the justice after he was told that there is nowhere the case was going and after six months of endless visits to the court, Odhiambo says he gave up the chase.
“The family members came to me with 100,000 I refused. They came back again later with sh200, 000 and still, I rejected the offer. That is when I was told there is nowhere the case will go and I will regret turning down the offer.
For more than 6 Months I was in and out of court but nothing ever changed, I gave up and that is how I lost the case.
“My daughter was defiled at the age of 15 years, she is in form three, but she never got the justice she deserved. I am blaming police officers and the Department of Prosecution in Busia County for this. Those departments hampered the investigation over my daughter’s case.” He said.
A lapse in the investigating agencies on defilement matters in Busia led Everline Nanjala from Ongaroi Teso south in Busia to poverty after selling what she had in chase of justice after her daughter, Regina Okisa was defiled in 2010 at the age of 15 by a neighbor and a well-known person.
She says in the process her daughter was impregnated and gave birth to a boy child and since the case didn’t favor her, she was left to take care of the boy after the court cleared the culprit.
The same sentiments were echoed by Norah Ouma from Segero Nambale sub-county. Ms. Norah narrated how her daughter, a standard 7 pupil at Segero primary school in Nambale, was defiled in 2016 but till today they are still visiting Busia law courts seeking justice.
She says her daughter was defiled by a known person to the family and the effort to get justice seems futile adding that the case has taken too long which may compromise the court ruling on the case.
Affected families are now blaming investigations and the judicial system in the county for letting them down. They claim the justice system has not been fair to them by allowing their cases to drag in court while others are given sentences that do not amount to the offenses they committed.
However, according to Paul Murunga, an advocate of the high court of Kenya and a program officer End sexual violence in Africa at Equality Now, most cases of sexual violence are acquitted or even perpetrators end up getting leaner sentences due to a number of reasons.
Murunga says some cases are reported a bit late to the authorities and by the time police officers arrive at the scene the evidence is already damaged making it difficult for them to piece together evidence to be used in a court of law.
Another reason is the culture and traditions surrounding the issue of gender and sexuality in African society, which makes it difficult for the victim to report the case to the relevant bodies on time especially when the case is involving a close family member.
The victims opt to remain silent and when they later learn the need to report the matter to the authorities, it is already late.
He further reveals that the issue of corruption and bribery cannot be left out. According to him if the police have got interested in any case they will do everything they can to frustrate them.
“Police officers are part of the legal procedure and they understand the system. They know how to make the case weak by capitalizing on gaps and by doing so they weaken the case.
A number of cases have been frustrated in this manner, especially by police officers who do not appreciate the gravity of sexual offenses, especially involving young girls.
“We have been training the police officers informing them that this is a violation of the human rights of these girls. Some of these girls may never ever recover again fully in terms of their physical, emotional, and mental health.” He said
He is calling upon the police and all officers within the legal system to put in all the necessary efforts to ensure that they receive cases from the community involving defilement and push them through the legal system, to end such impunity, especially where it affects young girls.
He is challenging the government for failing to allocate enough resources to facilitate the implementation of laws that aims at protecting the lives of the under ages on sexual violence.
