How kangaroo courts in Kuresoi are aiding sex pests ruin minors

 

On March 17 this year, Beatrice (not her real name) was defiled by a 25-year-old man from a neighbouring village.

The incident happened, two days after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered the closure of all learning institutions for at least 30 days over Covid-19 concerns.

The suspect lured the Standard Seven pupil to his house, where he defiled her.

After learning about the incident, her parents secretly colluded with the suspect and struck an out-of-court settlement.

The suspect parted with Sh10,000 and the matter was not reported to the police.

In another incident, at just 13 years, Chebet (not her real name) was defiled and ran away from home in Kuresoi South, hiding at an aunt’s house in Bomet County.

She ran away not only to suppress the horrific memories she experienced but also to protect her defiler, a neighbour, from being arrested.

Her parents reached a deal with the man and upon receiving three cows and a goat, the matter was settled in a kangaroo court with the help of a local administrator.

These are just two examples of dozens of defilement and rape cases in Kuresoi North, Kuresoi South and Molo that are resolved in unofficial hearings that deny victims true justice.

The Nation established that dozens of defilement cases in these three areas of Nakuru County are never reported to the police. 

A majority are ended prematurely by parents, chiefs and their assistants and elders who prefer settling the matters in informal courts.

Criminals roaming free

“Defilement and rape suspects in the region continue to get away with their crimes, as parents, chiefs and their assistants settle the matters in kangaroo courts. This has jeopardised the fight against the crimes in the affected areas,” said Nakuru Human Rights Network (NAHURINET) director David Kuria.

“Sometimes negligence by local administrators sees many of these criminals walk scot-free after ruining the future of many girls. We want the police to move in swiftly, investigate and arrest the suspects,” he added.

Nation investigations reveal that there have been numerous reports of elders and locally formed committees resolving, among other cases, defilement and rape complaints at home and the perpetrators are left to walk scot-free.

Such informal courts allow the suspect to settle the case by parting with money, livestock or even farm produce like maize and potatoes.

The Nation established that defilers entice minors with sanitary towels, pastries or soda before abusing them sexually.

Kuresoi North and Kuresoi South lead in the numbers of school drop-outs in Nakuru, especially among girls aged between 12 and 17 years, due to early pregnancies.

The number of female genital mutilation cases are also high in the region.

The cases of defilement and rape, most of which go unreported, have attracted the attention of the Ministry of Interior.

On June 14, while on an impromptu visit to Temoyota location in Kuresoi North, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i warned that the government will not tolerate parents’ negotiating with police to hide or pardon defilement offenders.

Abetting defilement

“No one can negotiate the cases of defilement, since the complainant is the State and not the parents. Both the suspect and the arbitrators have to be arrested since they are all criminals,” Dr Matiang’i said.

“We are in agreement with security teams from Kuresoi, I want them to work with the community in rooting out criminal gangs responsible for chronic cases of defilement and intimidation of national government administration officers. Our children’s safety is paramount.”

During the visit, Dr Matiang’i was with Rift Valley regional police boss Marcus Ocholla, Nakuru County Commissioner Erastus Mbui, county Police Commander Beatrice Kiraguri and Kuresoi North Deputy County Commissioner Felix Watakila, among other security agents.

The CS said the ministry had learnt that cases of defilement were on the rise in the area, warning perpetrators that the government would not tolerate the crimes.

In an interview with the Nation, Kuresoi North sub-county police Commander James Ademba warned that parents and other people that help “solve” defilement cases out of court risk arrest and prosecution. 

“These defilement cases are not solvable outside court. It is not the parent who is the complainant but the child, and the law is very clear that there can be no settlement outside court since the child should get justice,” he said.

“Defilements are very serious cases involving children and nobody, not even the biological parent, can be allowed to finalise the case outside court. Let us be champions in fighting for the rights of the young girls and boys.” 

The defilement and rape cases have also attracted the attention of local leaders.

For instance, Nakuru Women Representative Lisa Chelule warned that parents who make social arrangements with offenders to circumvent the law would face the full force of the law.

She claimed that some local administrators were abetting defilement by allegedly aiding the settling of the cases in kangaroo courts.

Kangaroo courts

“You cannot solve such a case outside the corridors of justice and if you are found, you will be arrested and charged. It has been brought to my attention that some parents were silenced with as little as Sh10,000, livestock or bags of millet to drop the cases,” she said.

“Mwili wa mtoto wako si cabbage, si mahindi, si viazi, eti utapewa elfu kumi halafu uache kesi. Hiyo ni maisha ya mtu mwingine tofauti na wewe. Ukikubali kuhongwa wewe unafaa kukamatwa na uwekwe ndani na aliyemnajisi mtoto wako. Wazazi wajue kuna sharia.”

Ms Chelule put on notice parents, chiefs and village elders who settle defilement cases in kangaroo courts after receiving some form of compensation instead of reporting them to the police for legal action.

She said she was working closely with police, religious groups and community-based organizations to ensure disciplinary action is taken against government officials convening informal courts or tolerating the settlement of sexual offences out of court.

“We cannot allow leaders to make local arrangements and abet the crime. We shall go to those villages and arrest the parents who engage in these backroom deals while they compromise the future of their children. These are underage girls, so we cannot talk of either compensation or consent,” Ms Chelule said.

She discouraged local communities from protecting and hiding perpetrators of child defilement and said such people should be handed over to the police for legal action.

Church leader John Ng’eno said parents should also play their role of monitoring their children to find out what they are doing and ensure they are not exposed to irresponsible behaviour.

“The cases should be a wake-up call to the community to act now and protect the future generation. The moment we allow the trend to go on and the life of that child is cut short because of failing to act, then we are losing a nation, and one day God will ask you what you did when you had the opportunity,” Mr Ng’eno said.

Police have asked residents not to hesitate to report any kangaroo court settlements involving chiefs and their assistants.

Last year, 52 cases of teenage pregnancies were reported in Kuresoi North alone.

A survey by the Kenya Health Information System revealed that about 4,000 girls aged 19 years and below were reported pregnant in Machakos County alone between January and May 2020.

Sex predators

In Nakuru, 1,748 cases of teenage pregnancies were reported in the past few months, while Kajiado, Garissa and Kericho recorded 1,523, 901 and 1,006 cases respectively.

The revelations troubled Nakuru leaders, who have embarked on an initiative to mentor teenagers and tame increasing cases of early pregnancies.

The leaders, among them Senator Susan Kihika, MPs Martha Wangari (Gilgil), Charity Kathambi (Njoro), Kimani Ngunjiri (Bahati), Kuria Kimani(Molo), Joseph Tonui (Kuresoi South) and Mr Chelule (woman rep) and a host of ward reps, have described the trend as ‘unacceptable’ and vowed to join hands to curb it.

Some of the areas most affected by teenage pregnancies in Nakuru are Kuresoi South, Kuresoi North, Bahati, Subukia and the informal settlement areas of Nakuru town.

Last year President Kenyatta asked chiefs and their assistants to help arrest sex predators targeting teenagers.

President Kenyatta, who spoke at KICC in Nairobi during a workshop on Kazi Mtaani for regional and county commissioners, noted that area chiefs will be answerable on how schoolchildren were defiled under their watch.

He warned that those responsible for defiling minors would face the full wrath of the law.

Government data showed that the numbers of teenage pregnancies peaked in March after schools were closed over Covid-19.

A recent report by the National Council on Population and Development showed that two of five teenagers in Kenya are either young mothers or pregnant

Since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Kenya in early March 2020, some 20,828 girls aged between 10 and 14 have become mothers while among older girls aged between 15-19, some 24,106 were either pregnant or mothers already.    BY DAILY NATION