Ol Kalou is the land of milk and honey, but...

Beyond the lush fields surrounding Ol Kalou and the seemingly satisfied countenance of the people here, you will discover a town where defilement, rape and other sexual violence acts are rampant. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • You wouldn’t be far off the mark if you described Nyandarua County as the land of milk and honey. However, in sections of Ol Kalou, the County’s hub, defilment and rape are on the rise.

  • The situation is so dire, the police and local leaders have come together to speak out against the vices.

To many, Ol Kalou, the hub of Nyandarua County, located 40km East of Nakuru town, and 152km from Nairobi, signifies abundance.

On your way to the town are a number of food processing companies and trading centres with numerous outlets selling sacks of potatoes, carrots, and other foodstuff. Agriculture is the economic backbone of this land of plenty, and it shows.

If you looked beyond the green lush fields surrounding Ol Kalou though, and the seemingly satisfied countenance of the people here, you will discover a town where defilement, rape, and other

sexual violence acts are rampant. It is so serious, that police and local leaders have come together to speak out against this vice, and look for ways to stop it.

According to Nyandarua Central OCPD, Mr Wilson Kosgei, rape and defilement cases in the area have risen to shocking levels, with no one, not even pregnant women, being spared.

Since January last year, he says, the area has recorded over 16 defilement and rape incidents, with the Jua Kali area recording the highest number.

A few meters from the Ol Kalou police station is the Ol Kalou market – the traders in the market have taken shelter in their stalls from the scorching sun and the sharp wind, which is blowing dust everywhere.

We are led to one of the many clothing shops here, where we meet the owner, Miriam (not her real name), a 30-year-old mother of two, whose nine-year-old daughter was defiled a year ago.

 “September 8 - I will remember this day for the rest of my life. The teachers were strike, so my daughter was at home. It was around 8.30am. I had asked her to walk her younger brother, then in nursery, to school.”

A couple of minutes after her children left, she received a phone call from someone, asking her to report at the Ol Kalou Police Station.

“He told me that my daughter had been spotted walking across the market with blood dripping down her legs…” she says.

Past cases of rape as reported in the Daily Nation. PHOTOS| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

TRAUMATISED

She took her daughter to hospital, where she was informed that she had been raped. Though it is almost six months since that fateful morning, Miriam says that her daughter is still very traumatised by what she went through. The young girl has regressed in

many ways, and cannot, for instance, bear to be left alone in a room.

“I will never send her anywhere again,” Miriam says, tears clouding her eyes.

The person who defiled her daughter is yet to be arrested.

According to the area’s OCPD, Mr Kosgei, defilement suspects in this area range from parents, teachers, relatives, neighbours, matatu drivers and boda boda  operators, with many children falling victim to rapists while either walking to school, or walking home from school.

“At the moment, we’re following up on a case where a father defiled his daughter, two involving teachers and three cases where extended relatives were involved,” he says.

But these monstrous acts are not only being committed against children.

At the Ol Kalou open market, we are introduced to *Irene, whose 24-year-old disabled cousin was raped in the same Jua Kali area in March last year. The person who raped her also beat her up because she had injuries all over her body. The incident left her

so traumatised, she was unable to speak for a while. Due to the serious injuries inflicted during the attack, she was referred to Nairobi Women’s Hospital in Nairobi for further treatment.

A few kilometers South of Ol Kalou Police Station, is Huruma Estate, where *Nyambura, a 39-year-old mother of four, lives. Her harrowing ordeal at the hands of rapists not only left her physically and emotionally wounded, she also lost her unborn child.

“It was October 20 last year – I was pregnant with my fifth born. It was on a Tuesday. I went into labour and sought help from my neighbours – three of them, all women, offered to escort me to hospital,” explains Nyambura, a farm labourer.

LOST BABY

As they were approaching the hospital she says, they were attacked by two men armed with clubs, who robbed them off their phones and money.

“One of the women was hit on the hand, while the other two managed to flee unharmed. Due to my pregnancy, I could not run – they hit me thrice on the head, and I passed out,” she explains.

When she came to, she was at JM Kariuki Ol Kalou Hospital – she had been raped, and had lost the baby she was about to deliver.

Mr Kosgei explains that many rape cases in the area increase during the maize planting season, where the crops offer an ideal hideout for criminals. He also blames  parents for some of defilement cases reported here.

“In many such incidents, the negligence of parents is to blame. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, we took in four very young children who we found loitering in the streets, far away from their homes; their parents had no idea where they were or with

whom. It goes without saying that such children are vulnerable to sexual abuse.”

 Kamau Ngotho, Member of County Assembly representing Karau Ward, says that while most such cases go unreported, the ones that do get reported remain unsolved, while some protect the culprit.

This is especially the case where the defiler or rapist is related to the victim.

“There is a case of a 10-year-old girl who was defiled by her father, who even infected her with HIV. As I speak, the father is scot free, since the girl’s relatives decided to hush up the matter.”

It seems, Ngotho explains, that relatives of victims are more concerned with their image, what people will say, rather than the well-being of the defiled child.

The question then begs – what could be the problem? Why are there so many cases of sexual violence in this area?

Blame it on drugs, bhang to be specific, says Wanjiku Muhia, the Women Represantative of Nyandarua County, who facilitated the transfer of the disabled young woman who was raped last year to Nairobi Women’s Hospital.

SORROUNDED BY FOREST

“The Nyandarua area is surrounded by the Aberdare forest, where there have been cases of people growing bhang, which I am convinced is the main cause of these worrying incidents we keep

hearing about,” she says.

Ms Muhia adds that laxity amongst police officers in the area when it comes to assisting those who have been sexually violated is to blame for the fact that serial rapists continue to live free in

the community. 

“Some of these police officers have no training on how to handle rape cases, especially how to collect evidence,” she explains, noting that there are instances where suspects that had been

apprehended have been set free due to lack of evidence.

She also terms the low number of female police officers as a blow to the fight against sexual violence.

“A couple of weeks ago, I went to one of the police stations in the area, where there is only one female police officer - to make matters worse, she was on leave then,” she says, adding that while any police officer, man or woman, should know how to

handle a rape case, someone who has been raped might find it easier to recount the incident to a woman.

Suspects being released on bond is also a major hindrance to the fight against sexual violence.

Says Kosgei, “Most of the time, suspects are arrested, only to bailed out and sent back to the society, where they continue committing the same crimes,” he says, adding that just as there are relentless and intense campaigns against terrorism, female genital

mutilation and cattle rustling, the same efforts should be directed towards sexual violence, with those found guilty facing the full force of law.

 

RAPE AND DEFILEMENT CASES

Rape and defilement cases reported in the media recently

January  22, 2016: A 48-year-old taxi driver was accused of raping a 31-year-old woman, said to be a waiter at Kibugu, in Embu County.

January 11, 2016: The body of Felister Murugi Maina, 17, a Form Three student at Gatugi Mixed Day Secondary School in Nyeri County, is discovered dumped in a 100-feet abandoned well. Felister was raped.

January 4, 2016: A 6-year-old child is brutally raped and murdered by a 15-year-old in Kabironi, Kirinyaga County.

Dec 23, 2015: A 16-year-old mentally challenged girl in Huhoini area, Tetu Nyeri, gives birth after allegedly being raped by a 52-year-old man.

December 18: The body of a 10-year-old girl believed to have been raped and murdered is discovered dumped in a millet plantation in Bungoma County.

40-year: Old Mutunga Primary school teacher is accused of defiling a six-year-old Class One pupil, three days after a 22-year-old woman is attacked and killed by three robbery suspects in Mandazini area in Bungoma County.

April 2015: Three men are convicted and sentenced to 15 years in jail for rape and seven years for causing grievous bodily harm, in a landmark case that marked justice for a 16-year-old girl by the name of Liz who was gang-raped and left for dead in Busia

County back in June 2013, in a case that triggered #JusticeForLiz social media campaign.

November 15, 2015: Highridge Girls Secondary School principal, Mary Muraku is interdicted over alleged negligence after being accused of failing to take action against a male teacher, Hillary Okeyo who allegedly raped a Form One student in the school.

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THESE IMPORTANT STEPS CAN KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE

According to Dr Dickson Ombaka, Chairman of the Department of Sociology at Kenyatta University, most rapists have psychological and psychiatric problems.

“These individuals are likely to have communication, emotional and financial problems, which prevent them from seeking sexual favours from consenting adults – this partly explains why they turn to children and other defenceless individuals.” 

What about the parent who defiles his child?

“A contributor could be stressful situations in marriage. Perhaps the perpetrator was denied his conjugal rights, prompting him to turn against his child,” he says.

 

NURTURE A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM

The buck stops with the parents, since they bear the responsibility of protecting them. Apart from this, parents also need to teach their children about dangers and reality of rape.

He adds that being actively involved in a child’s life can make warning signs of sexual abuse obvious.

“Nurturing a close relationship with your children will help them to feel comfortable coming to you in case something happens to them, or if they feel uncomfortable about a certain person,” he adds.

Also teach your child about boundaries.

“Let them know that no one has the right to touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable,” he says, insisting that parents ought to encourage their children to talk about their bodies from an early age, and know that there are certain body parts

that others should not touch or see.

 

OTHER TIPS INCLUDE:

  •  Being actively interested in their day-to-day lives by asking them what they did during the day and who they did it with.

  •  You should know people in your child’s life, be it other children or adults.

  •  Screen your child’s caregivers.

  •  Once your child is old enough, talk about rape and involve your child in the conversation.

  •  Encourage your children to be open, as this will give them the courage to speak up when something is not right.

  •  Know the warning signs of child sexual abuse so as to be able to notice any changes in your child.

  •  Assure them that they won’t be in trouble if they talk, considering the fact that many perpetrators threaten their victims into silence.

  •  Set time aside to spend with your child, where you give them your undivided attention.