Kenya's forgotten victims of politically motivated rape and brutal assault. 'A father was ordered to join in as his daughters were gang raped. He refused… so they raped him as well':... Report from Human Rights Watch describes the violence and sexual assaults carried out during the crisis in Kenya

The stories abound of the sexual violence that occurred during the crises that erupted in Kenya, late in 2007 over the presidential elections. Victims reveal ordeals suffered during two-month spate of sex attacks across Kenya. Nearly a decade later, no one seems to care about rehabilitation and restitution for these innocent, hapless victims.

-- Read this report by Human Rights watch HRW, and be be prepared to be horrified.

 
Credit: Guardian
Abused: Fatma W. was 17 when she was gang raped at their home in Nairobi by three men who accused her family of hiding men from the “enemy” tribe during the 07-08 Kenya crisis. Her seven-year-old son is a result of the rape.

'Joseph N., 83, and his family were attacked during the violence in the wake of the 2007 election in Kenya. Dozens of men raped his two daughters, and tried to force him to participate in the sexual assaults. When the elderly man refused, the men pulled out his teeth before cracking his skull, and raping him'
 
Violence erupted across Kenya after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki won the presidential election held on December 27, 2007. The chaos lasted two months, and left  at least 1,130 people dead and displaced up to 600,000 people in the country.

Hundreds of victims of brutal rapes and sexual assaults carried out during one of the most chaotic periods of Kenya's history have spoken of their horrifying ordeals. Among them are an elderly father who was ordered to join in when a group of young men gang-raped his daughters. When he refused, they stripped him of his clothes and took turns raping him as well.

The man, only identified as Joseph N., 83, spoke of how a group of 50 youths attacked his home and raped him and his two daughters, both of whom later died as a result of the assaults. Joseph N now cares for some of his grandchildren, but has been suffering from chronic health issues since the January 2008 attack.

President Kibaki's government accused supporters of his opponent Raila Odinga of 'ethnic cleansing,' to which Odinga himself responded by claiming the Kibaki government was guilty of genocide.

Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 900 cases of sexual assaults, violence and rapes occurred in the months after the 2007 presidential election in Kenya.

Most of the 163 female and nine male survivors of sexual assaults interviewed by HRW had been raped by more than one perpetrator.

In many of the cases, the brutal sexual assaults involved more than four perpetrators and, in a few instances, more than ten. Several victims describe how the perpetrators used foreign objects during the rapes, inserting everything from guns to bottles in their vaginas.

One survivor from Mombasa told of how she was raped using a gun, while another was so badly abused with sticks that her uterus had to be removed. Another woman, identified only as  Mwanaidi H. was raped by officers of the General Service Unit (GSU), the para-military wing of the Kenyan Police Force, when she was seven months pregnant. She was subjected to such brutal rape and assault that her baby died inside her.

Nyasiongo F., aged 24, was gang raped with her then 12-year-old sister, who was subjected to such a violent sexual assault she suffered a brain injury. 

'The man was so violent with my sister because she was screaming. He hit her on the head with his fists and she fainted,' she told HRW.
'She was in a coma for six months. She is not okay mentally. She does not know how to use a toilet. She faints often.

'Sometimes she gets violent and breaks things in the house. I became pregnant following the rape and I live with her and my son. We have no relative to help us. It is very hard on me.'

Several victims describe how the perpetrators used foreign objects during the rapes, inserting everything from guns to bottles in their vaginas.

One survivor from Mombasa told of how she was raped using a gun, while another was so badly abused with sticks that her uterus had to be removed.

Another woman, identified only as  Mwanaidi H. was raped by officers of the General Service Unit (GSU), the para-military wing of the Kenyan Police Force, when she was seven months pregnant. She was subjected to such brutal rape and assault that her baby died inside her.

 Credit: Guardian
Horrifying: Joseph N., 83, (top left) spoke of how a group of 50 youths attacked his home and raped his two daughters. When the elderly man refused, the men pulled out his teeth and cracked his skull before raping him too. His daughters both later died as a result of the assaults. Joseph is now taking care of some of his grandchildren, but he has chronic health problems since the attack

Nyasiongo F., aged 24, was gang raped with her then 12-year-old sister, who was subjected to such a violent sexual assault she suffered a brain injury. 

'The man was so violent with my sister because she was screaming. He hit her on the head with his fists and she fainted,' she told HRW. 'She was in a coma for six months. She is not okay mentally. She does not know how to use a toilet. She faints often.

'Sometimes she gets violent and breaks things in the house. I became pregnant following the rape and I live with her and my son. We have no relative to help us. It is very hard on me.'


Credit: Guardian
Shunned: Wangechi N., 60, was raped by men she did not know in December 2007, after which she and her family were evicted from their home in Eldoret. She is pictured here in her vegetable garden in an area where some families expelled from their homes during the post-election violence bought land and rebuilt homes

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In the dark: Cheptoo M., a blind woman, displays her walking cane. She was raped together with her younger sister by two General Service Unit officers at their home in a slum in Nairobi. Her husband became verbally abusive following the rape and eventually left her. Cheptoo is also living with HIV. She is raising her own child and four children of her sister who died in 2013, with no family support

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Rising again: Regina W., 23, was raped in December 2007 at the age of 15. She now works with Grace Agenda, a community-based organization that supports survivors of sexual violence

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Broken family: Nyasiongo F., 24, stands outside her house in a slum in Nairobi with her seven-year-old son born from rape. Kamene is also raising her young sister whose rape was so violent it left her with a brain injury – she faints often and cannot use a toilet, feed herself, or go to school. Their family abandoned them when they learned of the rapes

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 Abandoned: Mwende T., was just 16  when she was raped in January 2008 by a neighbor who said he would help her to escape from marauding youths. When she went to the police after a few days to report the rape, a police officer said she was lying about being raped. Mwende had to move when the man who raped her threatened to kill her when he learned she had gone to the police

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Sinapei P., 62, stands at her husband’s grave at their home in Rift Valley region. When Sinapei’s husband found out that she had been raped, he refused to sleep with her, beat her, chased her away from home, brought other women home, and verbally abused her. He died in 2014 and she is very worried that her brothers-in-law will take away her land and home and she will have nowhere to live

 Credit: Guardian

Lucy G., 46, from Nairobi was married with a good job, but her world fell apart when she was gang raped in December 2007. Lucy had a stroke in 2012, which has limited her ability to use her hands properly, walk, and work. She lives alone in a one-roomed house in a slum in Nairobi, and has no family support. She is often hungry and has no money to seek proper treatment

 Credit: Guardian
Fighter: Jaqueline Mutere, 48, walks on a rail line in Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya, which was one of the hot spots of the post-election violence. She was raped in December 2007 by a man she knows. She is now raising her daughter born from the rape although she says she struggled to accept her. Jaqueline started Grace Agenda, a community-based organization, to support survivors of sexual violence particularly women struggling to raise children born from rape

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Living in fear: Atieno O., 36, was raped in December 2007 during the post-election violence. She has never told her husband about the rape but says he is suspicious and still questions whether she was sexually assaulted during the violence. She is afraid that if he finds out the truth he will chase her away and she would not be able to support their three children on her own

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Maua E., 53, at her relocated home in Rift Valley. Maua went to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for treatment two days after being gang raped but the health workers ridiculed her and delayed treatment

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Nafula K., 46, was gang raped together with three other women by four men in January 2008 while at an IDP camp. Her husband beats her, verbally abuses her, and refuses to sleep with her. Her family was also evicted from their home during the post-election violence. She says she wants to leave her abusive husband but wants the government to first build her a house so that she can have a place to go to

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Suffering: Wairimu V., 65, was raped by a group of men at a camp for internally displaced persons in the wake of the crisis. Her husband blames her for the rape, and beats and verbally abuses her including in the presence of their children. She would like to leave her abusive husband but is worried that she will not be able to support herself. She has such severe pain in her leg, lower abdomen, and back that she has to take pain killers daily; she also has vaginal bleeding and hypertension

 The question remains, is anyone ever going to get off their entrenched defensive positions and start rehabilitating the victims?

Restitution which they all rightly find scary is a totally different and politically fraught discussion

Courtesy: Guardian