‘Stop! I'm on my period’: How menstruation saved a woman from highway rape
Caroline Chepkoech during the interview at Nairobi's Upper Hill Springs Hotel on December 1, 2024. She spoke about a robbery and attempted rape incident on the Narok-Bomet highway, by a man she offered a lift in her car.
What you need to know:
- A businesswoman's act of kindness – offering a lift to two strangers during a rainstorm on the Narok-Bomet highway – turned into a fight for survival when the male passenger revealed himself as a serial rapist.
- Caroline Chepkoech escaped rape by proving she was menstruating, enduring the humiliation of showing her sanitary pad to her would-be attacker who bragged about assaulting other women on the same highway.
- Police later revealed two women had been found dead in the same area where Caroline was attacked.
The rain drummed steadily against Caroline Chepkoech's windshield as she drove along the dark Narok-Bomet highway that evening. What started as a simple act of kindness – offering shelter to two strangers from the storm – would soon spiral into a nightmare that continues to haunt her months later.
"I've always believed in helping those in need. But that night changed my perspective completely," Caroline says, her voice trembling slightly as she recounts her ordeal for the first time. "It was terrifying and has left a scar I will carry forever."
The events of February 26, began innocently enough. Caroline left Nairobi at 2pm, planning to drive to her rural home in Bomet. She made a brief stop in Narok town to meet a friend for coffee, resuming her journey at 8:30pm. As heavy rain began pelting down, she was forced to reduce her speed, struggling with poor visibility and a malfunctioning air conditioner.
Near Ololulunga's main matatu stage, she pulled over to adjust her car's settings – a decision that would alter the course of her night. Before she could fully step out of her vehicle, a woman, drenched from the rain and carrying a kiondo (traditional woven bag), climbed in uninvited.
"She was dressed in a vendor's apron, the kind fruit and vegetable sellers wear," Caroline recalls.
"When I questioned her, she pleaded for a ride, saying she'd been stranded for more than an hour." Before Caroline could respond, a man entered the vehicle, forcing the woman to move aside.
Despite her hesitation, Caroline's compassionate nature won out.
"The man said he wouldn't be going far, just past where the woman needed to be dropped. Grudgingly, I agreed, thinking it wouldn't hurt to help someone in need."
The journey continued without incident at first. The trio made small talk as they approached Mulot, the earlier downpour now reduced to a gentle drizzle. In the Ratilit area, the woman disembarked, offering payment, which Caroline declined.
"I told her it was a free ride as I wasn't in the matatu business," Caroline says. "She seemed grateful and quickly hopped onto a waiting boda boda."
The male passenger stepped out to let the woman leave but returned quickly, asking to move to the front passenger seat for a better view of his destination, supposedly just 200 metres ahead. When Caroline pulled over at his request to stop, the night took a terrifying turn.
"Instead of getting out, he demanded all my money," she says, her voice growing taut with the memory. "I thought he was joking at first. But there he was, holding the door partly open, threatening to harm me if I didn't cooperate. In seconds, he had transformed from a seemingly harmless passenger into a criminal."
Compensate him
Trembling, Caroline handed over Sh2,000 – all the cash she had in her car's compartment. "He took it but demanded more, saying I couldn't be driving a good car and travelling without money." The man showed no interest in her M-Pesa balance, likely wary of leaving a digital trail.
But the robbery was just the beginning. "Disappointed by the small amount, he said the only way I could compensate him was to have sex with him," Caroline recalls. His chilling words still echo in her mind: "You're even lucky that I have a condom with me, so the experience won't be bad after all."
Armed with a metal-tipped club and a Somali sword, he ordered her out of the car toward a depression in the ground he seemed to know well. In that moment of terror, Caroline remembered something that might save her – she was menstruating.
"He didn't believe me at first," she says. "He threatened to kill me if I was lying, bragging about how many women he had attacked on this highway." His words were horrifyingly casual: "How many women do you think I have raped on this highway? Don't be primitive."
In a moment of desperate humiliation that likely saved her life, Caroline proved her condition. "He switched on the car's internal lights and even touched the pad to verify. It was degrading and traumatising, but I knew it was my only chance to survive. I was still in the driver's seat, completely defenceless. I felt certain he would kill me as he had threatened. At that point, I thought I would rather endure rape than death at the hands of this man who had transformed into a monster during our brief encounter."
The evidence gave him pause. Cursing, he slammed the door shut, warning her to leave before he changed his mind. Caroline, trembling and drenched in sweat, fumbled with the ignition and fled.
It wasn't until a truck driver flashed his lights at her that she realised she was driving without headlights. She couldn't even stop to adjust her clothing, which remained around her knees as she drove non-stop to Bomet, where worried friends awaited after receiving her panicked calls.
"I cried the entire night," she says. "The shock had set in. Having a stranger see and touch something so private has been deeply traumatising." She describes her attacker as a dark-skinned man in his mid-30s, wearing a leather jacket, jeans, and sports shoes, with brown teeth and average height.
The next day, she reported the incident at Mulot Police Station in Narok County, filing it under OB. NO 26 of 27/02/2024 at 4:30pm. Since then, she's sworn off offering rides to strangers, preferring to travel alone or with known companions.
"I strongly advise women to strictly travel alone or with a well-known friend or family member for both long and short distances to avoid robberies, rapes, and carjacking," she cautions. "It's also important to lock your car at all times."
The incident continues to affect her family, with her parents regularly checking on her during long drives. But Caroline has chosen to break her silence for a purpose.
"I've chosen to speak about my experience to help other potential victims. Even if I had been raped, I would have spoken openly about it. It's important to create awareness and save lives. Women suffer too much in silence," she says with quiet determination.
While a senior police officer confirms the case remains open with the suspect still at large, authorities have revealed an even more chilling detail: two women have previously been found dead in the same area where Caroline's attack occurred.
