On the night of February 18, 17-year-old Sharon Chelangat stepped out of a relative's house where she had dinner in Barkak estate in Silibwet, Bomet County.
Hours later, she was gang-raped, gagged with clothes, and left for dead in a trench a few meters from Silibwet police station in the dead of the night.
Good Samaritans rescued the girl and rushed her to Tenwek Hospital, where she was found to have broken bones with blood oozing from her ears, nose, and mouth.
For another 14 days, her lifeless body lay in the cold fridge at Tenwek Hospital morgue as her parents struggled to raise money to clear the hospital bill and meet funeral expenses.
Relatives remove the body of Sharon Chelangat, a rape victim at Tenwek hospital mortuary in Bomet county on March 5, 2024. She succumbed to injuries sustained during the ordeal at Silibwet trading centre in Bomet county.
Photo credit: VITALIS KIMUTAI| NMG
What puzzles the residents is the fact that the crime was committed a stone's throw away from the police station and did not attract the attention of officers until a pedestrian stumbled on the injured girl.
Dr Nickson Mutai, a surgeon who conducted a postmortem on the girl’s body, stated that the victim had a fracture on the skull and injuries on her private parts.
The medical report states that she was admitted to the hospital on February 8 2024, following the assault a few hours earlier and she died 10 days later of internal injuries she sustained.
Going per the injuries sustained by the victim, it is suspected that foreign objects were inserted in her private parts in the shocking incident.
“I am appealing to the government agencies to get to the bottom of this matter and bring to book those who attacked and inflicted serious injuries on my daughter which eventually led to her death,” Ms Jackline Chepkemoi, the victim’s mother said.
“It took several hours for her to be admitted as we did not have the Sh500 that was required for registration at Tenwek Hospital and later Sh3,000 for treatment. We raised the initial amount about six hours later and the process commenced,” Ms Chepkemoi revealed.
The family revealed that the hospital bill rose to Sh700,000 and a fundraiser was held by villagers to pay the medical expenses including funeral costs.
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Photo credit: VITALIS KIMUTAI| NMG
“We were unable to raise enough money in time to pay the bill, which led to the delay of the funeral by over a week. We still have a pending bill of Sh350,000 which we are appealing to well-wishers to help us offset so that we can put a closure to this sad chapter in our lives,” Ms Chepkemoi added.
It is claimed that the victim was ambushed by more than three men who gang-raped her as she raised an alarm which did not elicit any response from members of the public and security officers from the nearby police station, which is also adjacent to the Deputy County Commissioner’s Office.
“The rising cases of insecurity at Silibwet trading centre is a matter of concern to all stakeholders and a crackdown should be conducted in the area to make it a crime-free zone,” Ms Lilah Siele, a Bomet women's leader said.
One suspect was arrested in connection with the crime and his accomplices are being sought, according to police officers conversant with the investigations.
Ms Jackline Chepkemoi and Mr Benard Ngeno, the mother and father ,of Sharon Chelangat, a rape victim who succumbed to injuries sustained, in this photo taken on March 5, 2024 when they picked the body at Tenwek Hospital mortuary in Bomet County, for burial.
Photo credit: VITALIS KIMUTAI| NMG
"We are appealing to anyone with information to volunteer to the police to enable us to bring the culprits to book,” a senior police officer, who did not want to be named, said on Thursday.
Several criminal activities including house break-ins at the trading centre have gone unreported according to the residents.
Mr Leonard Langat, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Bomet branch chairman said there was a need to make the trading centre a crime-free zone.
“The cases that have risen at Silibwet trading centre in the past few weeks have been worrying to the business community and residents. All government agencies should work towards arresting criminals operating in the area,” Mr Langat said.
Last week, a man murdered his three children and a housemaid at Kipkebe village, and later committed suicide after a domestic dispute.
