A 10-year-old girl from Barwessa in Baringo North, who was allegedly defiled by her 50-year-old uncle, has succumbed to her injuries.
She died at Sunrise Children’s home in Kabarnet where she had been placed for safe custody.
The minor, according to locals, was under the care of her aunt at Seremwo village in Baringo Central for the last seven years after the mother deserted her and her four siblings due to the father’s alleged alcoholism.
Reports indicate that following the separation, relatives agreed to take care of one child each, with the minor ending up with her paternal aunt at three years old.
Her woes started three years ago when her uncle started defiling her, warning of dire consequences if she reported the crime.
According to a relative, the minor braved the molestation until May, when she resorted to running away from her aunt’s house owing to the injuries she had sustained over time.
“The girl disappeared from her aunt’s house for six days, prompting the locals to mount a search for her. She was later found hiding in a bush. She divulged that she was being sexually abused by her uncle for the last three years,” the relative said.
The girl was taken to the Baringo County Referral Hospital, where she was treated and placed under the care of Sunrise Children’s Home in Kabarnet.
The main entrance to Sunrise Children's Home in Kabarnet, Baringo County.
Photo credit: Florah Koech | Nation Media Group
According to the children’s home manager, Titus Barmasai, the minor had been in and out of hospital and was recently admitted to Kabarnet hospital for three weeks.
Mr Barmasai said she later referred to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu, where she was for one month.
“The girl was extensively defiled by someone who was supposed to be her caretaker. She was brought to our facility when she was very sick and was in hospital most of the time. Reports we received from the hospital stated that her lower organs were extensively damaged as she was sexually molested for several years.”
Reports at Baringo County Hospital show the extensive damage rendered the girl unable to walk properly.
Medical superintendent Charles Maswai said an examination found the hymen was missing, pains in the lower abdomen and an open cervical, all signs of defilement.
The minor’s family is demanding justice and has appealed to the police and relevant authorities to arrest the suspect they say took advantage of the girl due to her poor background.
The suspect is said to have gone into hiding after the minor was rescued from his house, with police searching for him since May.
Baringo North sub-county police commander Fredrick Odinga said the suspect is still at large but that his wife was arrested and arraigned.
“The wife was arraigned at a Kabarnet court a month ago and granted a bond of Sh300,000, which she did not manage to raise. She is still in remand while we pursue the suspect,” said Mr Odinga.
The minor’s death comes barely a month after the children’s department in Baringo raised concern about increasing cases of violence against children, the majority being defilement, as well as teenage pregnancy and early marriage.
The county’s children’s coordinator, Omuse Otjom, said many sexual offences were recorded following the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in urban areas and informal settlements including Marigat, Kabarnet, Eldama Ravine, Mogotio and Kabartonjo.
“Though there are many cases of defilement, especially in the remote villages, many of them go unreported and the few that reach us are those reported by the police after a minor conceives. Some also get to us through the Ministry of Health,” he said.
He also noted many cases of older people preying on minors, hence the need for deterrent measures.
Cases of teenage pregnancy, he said, rose in the region during the pandemic, with some school going girls in remote villages married off to old men.
“You would be shocked by the number of minors who got pregnant after being defiled, with many of the cases going unreported or solved through kangaroo courts,” said Mr Otjom.
“I urge children who fall victim to gender-based violence to report the cases to authorities so that they get help and protection from adverse effects,” he added.
A sign outside Sunrise Children's Home in Kabarnet, Baringo County.
Photo credit: Florah Koech | Nation Media Group
According to statistics on the Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS), more than 46 cases of defilement were reported in Baringo, with most of the victims being girls aged between 11 and 15 years.
During a tour of Bartabwa with World Vision, to commission projects for fighting violence against children, Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui said the government is committed to reducing the prevalence of violence against children by 40 percent by the year 2023.
CS Chelugi warned that those subjecting minors to labour, trafficking and defilement will be arrested and arraigned.
“The full force of the law will apply to anybody engaging children in any form of violence. Our officers are under clear instructions to act immediately to keep children safe,” he said.
Data from the violence against children survey of 2019 indicates that boys and girls experienced unacceptably high rates of violence during childhood.
This includes direct experiences of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as indirect experiences such as witnessing violence in homes, schools, and communities.
“Among the interventions we have adopted is dissemination and implementation of the National Prevention and Response Plan on Violence against Children, 2019 to 2023,” said Mr Chelugui.
The plan includes implementation of laws and policies, raising public awareness, supporting families by strengthening parenting skills and economic status, and addressing norms and values that are punitive towards children.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Simon Chelugui.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The State also launched a public behaviour change campaign on violence against children dubbed Spot it, Stop it.
The campaign is aimed at kickstarting a movement to end violence against children in Kenya, through awareness creation from the national to the grass root levels.
The CS noted that many parents struggle to take full responsibility as they strive to improve economic situations, and that they lack knowledge on positive parenting and negative impacts of violent discipline.
He said the ministry has drafted the Family Promotion and Protection Bill, 2020, the Family Promotion and Protection Policy, and a national parenting manual and guidelines that will provide policy direction and services to enhance positive parenting.
