• The daughter tried to hold onto her mother but the energetic warriors overpowered her and knocked her mother down.
• The crime took place in Pokot North sub-county in February, and the girl was to sit her Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination at Kaptolomo Primary School in Alale this year.
A mother lost her front tooth as she fought off male warriors who abducted her primary school daughter for forced marriage.
Loice Lonyang said the five Pokot warriors lured her to open the door pretending that were looking for a woman who had escaped from her husband.
"I was shocked when one of them identified and grabbed my daughter claiming she is his wife," she says.
The daughter tried to hold onto her mother but the energetic warriors overpowered her and knocked her mother down.
"I struggled to resist the abduction instead I ended up losing my tooth during the battle. It was painful and I cried out but nobody was out to help me," Lonyang says.
"We have sleepless night times since our daughter was dragged away. We don’t know where she is. How can these warriors force my daughter to get married when she has not completed her school,” Lonyang says.
The crime took place in Pokot North sub-county in February, and the girl was to sit her Kenya Certificate of Primary Examination at Kaptolomo Primary School in Alale this year.
Lonyang describes her third born daughter as one of the brightest and most promising child in her family.
She petitioned the government to help trace and rescue her from her ‘husband’. "I will have a sleep when I see my daughter back in school. Let the government trace and rescue her from the warrior,’’ said Lonyang.
West Pokot church leaders, including former Kitale Anglican Church of Kenya bishop Stephen Kewasis, condemned the incident and asked the government to ensure the girl is rescued and taken back to school.
Addressing the media in Kapenguria, the leaders said it is dangerous for young men to target school girls and halt their education.
“We want the local administration to work with their counterpart in Uganda to track down and rescue the girl. The abduction is dangerous to our girls and the development of the county," said bishop Kewasis.
Bishop Kewasis noted for 50 years, the Pokot community had struggled to stop outdated cultures such as FGM and early marriage to give room.
"We strongly oppose the action by some people to take us back. We condemn the outdated culture," said Kewasis.
Dimtila Chesang, the director of I'm Responsible Foundation, said the girl was dragged to Amdat District in Eastern Uganda.
"The girl was abducted by warriors and dragged her away to Uganda. She has been away from school and we are worried that she could miss to sit for her KCPE," said Chesang.
Terming the incident as primitive, Chesang, an anti- FGM crusader, demanded that the local administration pursues and rescues the girl.
"This is an act of terrorism. It is retrogressive and we are demanding that the girl be rescued to enable her continue with her education," said Chesang.
Kaptolomo chief Lokwalado Acholoki said his office is powerless to rescue the girl and said he had reported the matter to his seniors.
"There is little I can do since the girl is hidden in another country. I have reported the matter to my senior and I expect the authority to contact its counterpart to solve the matter," said Acholoki.