Survivors of Kenya sexual violence demand justice

By Magdalene Mukami and Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya

Down a dusty crowded road in Kenya’s Mathare slums, past houses made of mud and rusted metallic oil barrels, is the home of Cynthia Akinyi (not her real name), a survivor of the post-election violence which rocked the country earlier this year.

Akinyi just came from a human rights conference in the capital Nairobi where a new report was released which says widespread sexual violence marred the 2017 Kenya elections in which Uhuru Kenyatta was declared president.

She recalls: “On that day there were gunshots everywhere. We couldn’t sleep in our houses because of the constant choking teargas; you couldn’t scream because that would alert the police to your location and we had seen people being killed, so we just kept silent.”

At around 1 a.m. she heard loud banging on her weak, weathered door.

“‘Open this door or we will break it down’,” Akinyi says, mimicking the voices of the men outside.

“I opened the door and I was hit by something by the men in green-spotted uniforms who were flashing torches. I fell there,” she said pointing at a section of the house which has ashes all over due to decades of use as a wood-burning .

“They then ripped my clothes and raped me as my children watched in fear, sobbing. I later was afraid to report it to the Mathare police station as I feared I might find the police officers whom I remember very well there,” she added.

Akinyi is among 71 people who Human Rights Watch in Kenya has documented in their new 31-page report -- They Were Men in Uniform: Sexual Violence against Women and Girls in Kenya’s 2017 Elections.

The report says the number of those who faced sexual violence in Kenya might be higher than documented due to the fear victims feel. It also documents three cases of men who were sodomized.

Government 'ignoring' sexual violence

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Agnes Odhiambo, a senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch called on the Kenyan government to do more to ensure that perpetrators of sexual violence during the post-election violence are prosecuted.

“This report shows that the Kenyan government continues to ignore cases of sexual violence done during the electioneering period; it has continued to fail to help victims of this violence [or] to hold perpetrators to account.

“We are calling on the Kenyan government to investigate and to put [in place] measures to protect men and women against sexual violence, including putting out a strong message to the police that it will not tolerate sexual violence.”

Odhiambo said half of the cases they documented were carried out by the police.

In the report, the organization called on the state to properly investigate cases, hold attackers accountable and ensure that survivors have access to comprehensive, quality and timely care.

A section of the report read that: "The women and girls interviewed described brutal gang rapes involving two or more attackers.

“Many said that they were raped vaginally and anally, that they were penetrated with objects, or that dirt was inserted into their private parts. Some were raped in the presence of family members, including young children.

“Most women said they were raped by policemen or men in uniform, many of whom carried guns, batons, teargas canisters, whips, and wore helmets and other anti-riot gear. In at least one case, a girl died after being raped."

Akinyi feels the report comes at an opportune time when “justice is urgently needed”.

Kenya has just come out of a four-month electioneering period that has claimed the lives of at least 100 people.