Busia mother's cry for justice after daughter with disability defiled, impregnated
Crime scene. Cases of defilement have been on the rise.
What you need to know:
- Irene* says the daughter disappeared, only to reappear in July pregnant.
- She took her to hospital where it was confirmed that she was four months pregnant.
Irene* presses her left palm repeatedly using her right thumb, perhaps to release her tension from imploding.
It was time for an interview. As we settled outside a neighbour’s compound, Irene looked disturbed. Doing the interview away from her home was meant to protect her and her daughter.
She sits on a wooden stool as her daughter stands under a tree, four footsteps away. I sit directly opposite her. She sighs loudly, an indication that she is weighed down by what she is about to share.
“I have three children, and my eldest is 16,” Irene begins.
“She has an intellectual disability.
“I’m single-handedly raising my children using the little [money] I get from casual farm work. My ex-husband and I separated.”
Irene hoped that her eldest daughter would finish school and become a science teacher as she always intimated.
Then the worst happened in February this year, erasing the aspiration.
“My daughter disappeared, only to reappear in July pregnant. I took her to hospital where it was confirmed that she was four months pregnant. Can you imagine how I felt?” she laments.
Recognising her state, Irene took one moment at a time to extract information from her daughter.
“A woman who runs a shop here had called her and promised to find her a job as a domestic worker. She accepted immediately, only for her to send her to a woman who brews illicit liquor and operates a brothel,” Irene narrates.
“During the day, she did her job and during the night, the woman would bring different men to sleep with her. I suspect she sent her away as soon as she realised she was pregnant because that would be bad for her business.”
The daughter intimated to her that the owner of the brothel was wealthy and untouchable; hence she could not report her.
A friend who heard about her tribulations introduced her to a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) that supports victims of sexual violence in Busia County to access justice.
“The two suspects – the woman who owns the brothel and the one who helps traffic the girls – were arrested after an authority in the higher ranks of the police service intervened,” says the head of the NGO.
“Otherwise, she had terrorised the mother. She was shaken and distressed when she sought my help.”
The area officer commanding police division, recently transferred to the station, confirmed the arrest, saying it happened after the NGO intervened. We keep the officer anonymous to avoid exposing the girl.
“I’m aware XXX (head of the NGO) is on the case currently in court,” the officer said.
*Names changed to protect identities of the mother, survivor and police boss.
