A goat to victim's family, defilement case settled!
When a sexual offence victim’s family in Marakwet East agrees to settle a case through kangaroo courts, the perpetrator gives a goat as a settlement.
What you need to know:
- When a victim’s family agrees to settle a defilement case through kangaroo courts, where elders arbitrate, a goat is given by the perpetrator as a settlement and some cash given to the elders.
- Sengwer human rights defender Mary Komen has told Nation.Africa that over 20 kangaroo court hearings have been held in parts of Marakwet East in the past two months.
An eight-year old girl in a Marakwet East village is waylaid and repeatedly defiled on her way to the river by two male neighbours. Another girl, barely 10, is accosted and molested by her parents’ farmhand, a middle-aged man. More shocking is a case where a father defiles his 16-year-old daughter.
These are some of the terrifying sexual abuse ordeals child rights defenders are grappling with on a daily basis in Elgeyo Markwet, a problem compounded by lack of law enforcement by security agencies.
When a victim’s family agrees to settle a case through kangaroo courts, where elders arbitrate, a goat is given by the perpetrator as a settlement and some cash given to the elders. The cash is usually wrapped in couch grass. Elders spit on it as a form of blessing and culprit’s remorse.
However, such settlements have only encouraged the vice, instead of deterring perpetration.
Kangaroo court
Sengwer human rights defender Mary Komen has told Nation.Africa that over 20 kangaroo court hearings have been held in parts of Marakwet East in the past two months.“This is a clear indicator that the vice is on the rise and when elders resort to the kangaroo courts, the perpetrators go on with the vice unperturbed. There was a case of serial defilers and we fought hard to secure a conviction in a court of law, while others are pending,” she says.“Defilement, rape, child labour, deprivation of education, early marriage and female genital mutilation are some of the cases we are grappling with. There has been an upsurge in the vices over the past year.”
Sengwer human rights defender Mary Komen. She says over 20 kangaroo court hearings have been held in parts of Marakwet East in the past two months to settle defilement cases.
She said lack of law enforcement by government agencies and poor funding of human rights defenders are a big challenge.
“As defenders, we are sometimes threatened from pursuing justice for the victims and without support from government agencies, we can achieve little. Those in the villages, where culture is deep-rooted, have been suffering the most in silence,” she says.
Also read:Defilement: The silent epidemic
"At the moment, the majority of women and children are in rivers Arror and Embobut mining gold to support their families; this pierces my heart. The children are deprived of education and soon they will be married off at a tender age and the vicious circle of poverty will continue.”
Local Maendeleo ya Wanawake leader Anne Suter says there is an urgent need for concerted efforts by children’s welfare stakeholders to end moral decadence, which robs young girls of their innocence.
Law and enforcement
“The perpetrators are known to the victims and include neighbours, workmen and close relatives – where the child’s father is not excluded. The Sexual Offences Act was meant to serve as a deterrent to the perpetrators, but most witnesses fail to testify in court, eventually weakening cases.”
The Act states that a person who defiles a child aged 11 and below gets, upon conviction, a life sentence. Consequently, a person who defiles a child aged 12–15 is, upon conviction, jailed for a term not less than 20 years.
Further, a person who defiles a child aged between 16 and 18 is, upon conviction, imprisoned for a term not less than 15.Iten-based Inua Dada lobby says women and children should be empowered to guarantee their socioeconomic wellbeing.
“The bottom-line is goodwill from all stakeholders if we want to stem gender violence. The rise is worrying and if there would be no synergy, then more child-mothers and victims of sexual violence would increase by the day,” said Mercy Ng’eno, the lobby’s secretary.
Elgeyo Marakwet deputy governor Grace Chesrek said they have rolled out a series of empowerment programmes targeting women, including those with special needs, to achieve their goals.“We are debating how best we can boost their welfare and empower them.
We have shared a raft of ideas with them on measures to spur the economy. We are also seeking additional partnerships to ensure the prosperity of our women.
”According to Ledisha Kittony, an advocate of the High Court, there has been an upsurge in sexual offences across the country. She says family breakdowns and erosion of societal values are largely to blame for the escalating cases, adding that the more families seek ‘justice’ through elders, the more children become easy prey for sexual perverts.
“Sexual offence has not been taken seriously and traditional customs and norms come to the fore when handling sexual molestation cases,” says the advocate.
