Mystery of clashing rape reports from Coast General Hospital
A medical report has revealed how the compulsory examination of victims of sexual offences in medical facilities can be misused to settle personal scores.
The third report, carried out on a nine-year-old girl who had allegedly been defiled, clarified that the minor had not been defiled.
This contradicted an earlier report that had given a positive result for defilement, and is consistent with another, which gave a contradictory verdict.
The third medical examination was carried out by four medics. “The hymen is intact. No bruises and no scars were seen,” said the report signed by three doctors and a nurse in charge of the Gender-Based Violence Recovery Centre at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH), where the examination was done.
The third medical examination was carried out in the presence of 10 people, including four medical staff, a child welfare officer and the minor's mother.
This report contradicts an earlier report from the same institution, which had confirmed sexual abuse.
The third medical examination, which has now been submitted to the court, was ordered by the Mombasa High Court due to conflicting reports from the first and second tests.
The High Court took note of two conflicting Post-Rape Care (PRC) forms, one indicating sexual abuse and the other indicating that the child had not been sexually assaulted, raising concerns that medical procedures were being manipulated to achieve a particular result.
Mombasa High Court judge Olga Sewe, as a result, ordered the minor to undergo a third medical examination to establish the truth.
The third procedure, which has now cleared the air about the alleged sexual assault of the child, was ordered to be conducted by a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the CGTRH, in the presence of the two doctors who prepared the conflicting reports, as well as the minor's parents or guardians.
The matter reached the High Court after the Commission for Human Rights and Justice (CHRJ), an advocacy group, filed a petition to quash the two initial PRC forms with conflicting results, alleging sinister motives on the part of one of the parties who was pushing for the medical procedure to be performed on the minor for alleged defilement.
CHRJ Executive Director Julius Ogogoh told Justice Sewe that one of the reports appeared to have been fabricated or manipulated with ill motives, hence the need for the court to clarify the status of the minor.
Fresh medical examination
“The applicant requests that the PRC forms filled at the CGTRH be quashed and a fresh medical examination of the minor be conducted by another medical officer,” said Mr Ogogoh, who also requested that the orders should prevent the implementation of the initial results until a fresh medical report is filed in court.
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The implementation of the initial findings led to the minor's close relative being charged with defilement.
This case stems from a rather tragic incident that deprived the child of her biological father.
The child's biological father died before the child was born. Subsequently, the mother became romantically involved with another man, who is now the child's stepfather.
Their affection grew and the couple moved in together, assuming the roles of husband and wife in 2017, when the child was just four years old.
Over time, the child and the stepfather developed a strong father-daughter relationship as the man took on parental responsibilities for the child.
In June this year, the child's paternal aunt approached her sister with allegations that the child had been sexually abused. According to court documents, the aunt had taken the child swimming and made the allegations when she returned in the evening.
Without the knowledge of her mother
According to court documents, the aunt took the child to Bomu Hospital without the knowledge of her mother or father.
The aunt later informed the minor's parents of her visit to the hospital, resulting in another trip to Nairobi Women's Hospital, where the minor was diagnosed, treated and discharged. The next day, the minor was taken to CGTRH for examination and the PRC form indicated that she had been sexually assaulted.
Records show that weeks later, the minor's parents took the child to Pandya Hospital for a check-up and a gynaecologist confirmed that the minor had not been sexually assaulted.
The minor's aunt, stepfather and a police officer then returned with the child to the CGTRH for clarification, and a PRC form was completed stating that the minor had not been defiled.
Court documents also reveal that the minor's biological father was a wealthy man with significant investments in South Africa.
In her statement to the police, the minor's mother stated that the family of the child's biological father was trying to take the child away from her because of the deceased's wealth in South Africa.
The police stated in their findings that there was a conflict between the minor's mother and the biological father's family over the actual custody of the child.
The court will give direction on the case on December 13.
