In the last one week or so, there has been sexual content of local women that went viral particularly in the counties at the Coast.
The content exposed women in their private spaces engaging in personal sexual matters with other individuals.
Their actions were captured on video and those videos distributed over various social media platforms without their consent. As a result, they were greatly embarrassed to the extent they had to flee from their homes and go into hiding. They are no longer able to go about their business as usual.
There has been uproar all around the Coast region with various allegations being made. The most disturbing allegation is that government officers in places of authority may have coerced the girls into participating in the sexual activities with promises of rewards such as employment.
This by any means is greatly disturbing and if indeed it is true, then those officers must face the full wrath of the law for demanding sexual favours to offer employment. Coercing one in such manner is an illegality and is against the Constitution and other laws.
Further, while the sexual act in itself is regrettable and the girls stand cautioned not to accept such approaches, what is even worse is the fact that someone chose to share the videos with others and in the process, spread a private act of nature with hundreds others.
Those who went public violated the right to privacy under Article 31 (c) Constitution: “Every person has the right to privacy which includes the right not to have information relating to their private affair unnecessarily revealed.”
Therefore, while many are castigating the girls and pointing accusing fingers at them, it must be noted that those that spread the contents of the videos are even worse and more so, are liable for prosecution.
It is wrong for any person to intentionally expose another sexually with the sole intention of embarrassing and parading them in public. That the videos were widely shared across social media platforms is clear testimony there was deliberate effort by various actors to display private sexual content in public.
The other disturbing fact is that many across society have castigated the girls for what they were doing. The fact of the matter remains many other Kenyans engage in similar acts everyday. Besides the many who do it for pleasure, there are also those who engage in sexual acts to get ahead, either in their personal or official plans.
While casual sex is highly discouraged, it is also improper for Kenyans to take the moral high ground and only point fingers at the women when society itself has made sex a “normal” act.
Presently, the women are said to have relocated from their home area and their whereabouts remain unknown. It is indeed troubling that society is not checking to find out how they are doing after this exposure. Instead, everyone is busy blaming and accusing them.
The mental torture the women must be going through is unfathomable. They require urgent psychosocial support and counselling to come to terms with what has happened. Society will do well to let them be for now.
While such acts are not encouraged, especially the recording and indecent exposure, Kenyans will do well to remember that every individual makes mistakes.
No one is above reproach and we learn from mistakes everyday of our lives. When we err, we need to be corrected and not ridiculed. Religious leaders who have been at the forefront of condemning the incident should instead be at the forefront of asking their followers not to judge the women. He who has no sin cast the first stone.
Calls are for the government, particularly the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, to pursue the matter and ensure anyone and everyone culpable over this incident is arrested and charged.
To begin with, investigations should be undertaken to ascertain the role of the government officers involved in the matter. If found guilty, they should be locked away for a long time. Further, investigations should be done on those that spread the videos. They, too, should be locked away for a long time. Indecent exposure must never be tolerated.
