Domestic violence victim cries for justice
Zelia*, a domestic violence victim, on May 25, 2023. She is crying out for justice after her in-laws gave a false medical account of her abuse by her estranged husband.
What you need to know:
- Zelia* says her in-laws gave false information regarding the cause of her injuries, when she was hospitalised.
- They said a cow had hit her and that dented medical evidence needed to file a domestic violence complaint.
On December 12, 2021, at daybreak, Zelia* began preparing her two children for Sunday school at their local church in Matiliku, Machakos County.
By the time the children left for church some minutes after 8am, their father was still asleep.
Zelia, then aged 28, had planned to do laundry. Her job as a pharmacy attendant in Wote town meant she could only do the house chore on Sunday.
But there wasn’t any soap in the house. She requested him to get one from the nearest shop. She says her husband worked as a matatu driver and hadn't been to work for days claiming to be busy or sick, “yet he slept all day”. Zelia says she had nearly exhausted her Sh15,000 monthly salary and expected him to use his income to buy the soap.
“When I asked him why he was not reporting to work, he could claim I was disrespectful of him because I had a regular job,” says Zelia.
“When we married in 2017, he was a good provider. Every day, he came back home either with shopping or Sh1,000 to cover the necessities.
“But things took a different turn in 2020 when Covid-19 disrupted businesses. His employer engaged his services only on a need basis. However, in mid-2021, the business normalised and he was expected to be at work seven days a week.”
Attacked
“The request irked him. He jumped out of bed and started beating me with kicks and blows all over the body. Then he hit me with a hoe pin on the back of my head. I fell to the ground and lost consciousness,” she says.
She came around hours later at a local public hospital where her mother-in-law and sister-in-law rushed her for treatment. She says her husband ran away, only to appear a week later. The doctor said she had suffered soft tissue injuries.
At the hospital, however, her in-laws gave false information regarding the cause of her injuries. They said a cow had hit her, she says. This dented medical evidence needed for her to file a domestic violence complaint against her husband.
“I went to the police and tried to explain my situation, but they sent me away saying there was no evidence to prove my claim as the medical report said otherwise,” Zelia says.
She later separated from the abusive husband, but the pain of her deprived right to seek justice haunts her.
“I have not forgiven the man. I cannot forgive my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for lying. He would have killed me. If they had told the truth, action would have been taken against him and maybe I would have saved another woman from his abuse,” she cries out.
Medical evidence
The law is “heartless and unfriendly” when it comes to proving a case of domestic violence, she says. The burden of evidence lies with the victim and the medical report is one crucial piece of proof needed in court.
“Medical evidence is critical in the prosecution of cases and courts take it seriously Section 124 of the Evidence Act. There is, therefore, a need to have medical evidence that clearly and objectively documents the state of the victim,” explains Peninah Masore, end sexual violence programme officer at Equality Now.
“Although most medical reports are written based on evidence, a few rare cases are interfered with and contain false or misrepresented information. If presented in court, such medical evidence is normally fatal and difficult to refute on the part of the prosecution unless there is some other strong corroboratory evidence.”
She says in the cases where some individuals want to tamper with evidence, the victims bear “additional burden of being vigilant with the contents of the medical report, P3 (the Kenya Police Medical Examination Report) and PRC (Post-Rape Care Form) forms to ensure they are correct and comprehensive”.
However, where false information is given, she says, one can seek examination by another medical officer. For the medical officer giving an incorrect account of the victim’s medical examination, the aggrieved can file a complaint against the officer with the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council for disciplinary action, she advises.
*Name has been changed to protect her from further harm.
