Leaders in Murang’a have condemned rising cases of gender-based violence and have appealed to residents to help stem them.
Murang’a Woman Representative Betty Maina, Maragua MP Mary Waithera and nominated MP Sabina Chege said it is despicable for adult men to target children and defenseless members of the community.
They said the incidents are abetted by members of the community, who fail to report cases of sexual violence to the police and those who settle them out of court.
Such cases, the MPs said, absolve culprits and encourages potential ones due to lack of consequences.
“We have seen cases of parents settling cases of gender based violence out of court where children are defiled and in some cases impregnated,” Maina said.
The Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 data says about 24.3 per cent of Murang’a women aged between 15 and 49 years have experienced sexual violence.
In Embu, the prevalence drops slightly to 22 per cent against the national prevalence of 13 per cent.
In Laikipia, 13 per cent of women and 34 per cent of men said they were physically violated last year.
Earlier this year, protests erupted in Maragua subcounty in Murang’a county after a three-and-a-half-year-old girl was grabbed while playing with her friends and her body recovered a day later dumped in a swamp metres away from her home.
The post-mortem confirmed that Eliza Wamaitha had been sexually assaulted. At the same time, a 60 year-old man was receiving treatment at Maragua subcounty hospital after being sodomised.
In Nyeri county, a seven-year-old girl Tamara Kabura was defiled before being murdered last week in an incident that sparked outrage nationwide.
The suspect, Julius Macharia, was arrested and arraigned in court after CCTV footage showed him with the minor before her body was recovered buried in his house in Witemere.
But Maina said the trend can only be stemmed through the collaboration as many victims are left traumatised.
“It’s very unfortunate that we’re still registering high numbers of SGBV despite efforts being made to reduce them and more women and girls continue to fall victim," she said.
“I appeal to men to stop violating the rights of our women and girls because they are your mothers, sisters and daughters”.
She said it’s more appalling that perpetrators of sexual violence are often people known to the victims, urging parents to be on the look-out for paedophiles within their circles.
Maina also called for strict measures to be taken against those resolving sexual violence cases out of court.
“We want all those involved in handing these cases out of court to be prosecuted so that this habit can stop. Sitting in this kangaroo courts only worsens the mental and psychological well-being of the survivors”.
MP Waithera said she has been organising public forums to create awareness on SGBV.
“We want to talk about it openly and set up spaces where people can freely express themselves and I believe through these conversations, we will make it possible for people to report them when they happen”.
Waithera underscored the need to create awareness from the grassroots level to empower members of the public with the information needed to shield themselves and their loved ones from attacks.
Chege urged spouses to resolve marital issues amicably and seek help when overwhelmed instead of resorting to violence.
“Let us love love and understanding in our homes and create environments where children thrive,” she said.
Acting Central regional commissioner Joshua Nkanatha also urged residents to work together with security agencies to curb incidences.
“It’s very concern that some of the cases we’re receiving now of sodomy. May be we should call a meeting so men can explain what they are looking for in children that is not in adults”.
