Police in Isiolo are searching for a 20-year-old man suspected of sodomising a 7-year-old minor in a mosque last Saturday.
The case is the second in the same mosque in five months, the first one being in February involving a 10-year-old boy. It was unlawfully resolved out of court.
County police commander Pius Mbithi said on Monday the suspect allegedly committed the offence at Al Hidaya mosque in Kiwanjani area before fleeing.
The attack was reported to Isiolo police station by the minor’s father, who was escorted to the Isiolo County Referral Hospital by gender desk officers to attend the boy’s examination.
“The appropriate documents were filled and statements recorded before the main suspect took off as soon as he learnt that we were looking for him,” Mbithi said.
He said police went to the area and arrested a 21-year-old man suspected to be the main suspect’s accomplice. He said the man will be charged on Wednesday.
Police officers have collected supporting evidence, including a medical report on the minor provided by hospital.
The February case reportedly was resolved through maslaha, which is an out-of-court alternative dispute resolution method facilitated by Muslim elders.
This resolution has put the mosque committee and community elders under scrutiny for their role in promoting this informal system of justice allowing culprits to avoid legal accountability in serious criminal matters such as sexual and gender-based violence. It also is used to avoid the judicial system in other serious crimes.
Mbithi warned residents not to dare resolve sexual and gender-based violence cases out of court, saying the law must take its course.
“For such an incident to happen in a mosque is very unfortunate,” he said.
Isiolo Gender Watch executive director Grace Lolim and human rights activists Anab Kassim and Adan Ibrahim on Monday expressed pessimism that the recent case would be successfully concluded through police and the courts.
“We have been closely following up on this case and will continue, so those involved can be held accountable,” Lolim said.
“We saw the previous case at Al Hidaya mosque dismissed without legal recourse due to the intervention of mosque elders who facilitated a maslaha process that contravenes Kenya’s legal framework on sexual offences,” she said.
She expressed concern that already there are alleged attempts to obstruct justice by alleging the main suspect is a 16-year-old and not an adult.
Kassim called for the immediate disbandment of the mosque committee to allow for transparent investigations and ensure the victim receives justice.
“I ask the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya in Isiolo and community elders to take decisive action so we can help stem these cases and save our children,” she said.
Lolim emphasised the need for increased monitoring and intervention in gender-based violence in Isiolo, citing what she called the disturbing trend of young boys being victimised.
Activist Ibrahim said local elders are always keen to resolve cases privately though maslaha alternative dispute resolution, but said that denies justice to survivors of SGBV.
“I call on imams, especially the mosque’s committee, to understand that if we don’t take serious action now, things will only worsen,” he said, urging men to come out and condemn such violence against boys.
He called for the case to be expedited, thus setting a precedent, warning potential culprits and offering justice to the minor and his family.
