Girl’s quest for justice delayed by procedure

A 17-year-old girl’s search for justice amidst allegations of police demand for a bribe to arrest the suspect has exposed rampant cases of incest and defilement of underage girls in Gatundu North constituency.

On September 10, the victim, a class seven pupil, innocently hopped onto a boda boda on her way home from church unaware of what lay ahead.

DEFILED

On the way, the rider changed routes, took the girl to a forest, defiled her and threatened to kill her if she dared expose him.

“He took me to Kiriko forest, asked me to remove my clothes and I did.

"Then he gave me a piece of cake and asked me to lie down on the grass, which I did and he defiled me and later warned that he would kill me that if I dared to tell anyone of what happened,” the victim narrated the ordeal committed to her by a man well-known to her and her family.

TEACHERS
Upon further probing, the girl admitted that this wasn’t the first time the man was defiling her.

“He has done this several times in the same forest. He does it forcefully, its usually a painful act.”

The victim’s mother, Beth Nyagaita, said she learnt of what her daughter had been going through after receiving a call from her teachers on Monday, September 18, asking her to report to the school.

"The teachers told me that my daughter had confessed to engaging in frequent sexual activities with a boda boda operator.

"They further revealed that at some point, my daughter had been requesting for extra sanitary towels from the school, citing frequent bleeding.

CHILDREN'S OFFICE

"They advised me to take her to hospital and report the matter to the authorities.

"We proceeded to Kanjeria police post where we found an officer. He asked us to pay Sh5,000 to facilitate the arrest of the culprit and report back accompanied by a teacher.

"I settled on reporting on Saturday, when my daughter was not in school but the teacher refused to accompany me.

"The head teacher advised me to report the matter to the children’s office at Kamwangi on Monday,” Ms Nyagaita told Nation.

APPOINTMENT
On Tuesday, the two reported to the District children’s office where the matter was noted down and the two referred to Kamwangi police station.

An officer at Kanjeria police post identified as police constable Mwangi told the Nation that the failure by mother and the victim to show up on Saturday, accompanied by a teacher as advised, was the reason why the case wasn’t filed immediately.

He then referred this reporter to his seniors in Gatundu North for an official statement on the matter.

ARREST
Gatundu North police commander Reuben Muli said they were investigating the bribery allegations but so far there was no evidence to incriminate the said officer.

He also claimed that the mother was giving conflicting information on what happened at the police post but confirmed that the suspect has since been arrested.

Gatundu North MP Wanjiku Kibe said she was ware of the case.

“It was reported to me on Tuesday. The reason why no arrest had been made is because when the victim went to the hospital, the P3 form had not been filled as required by law for police to conduct the arrest,” Ms Kibe said.