Residents of a small village in Kaiti constituency, Makueni County want authorities to take action against 21 men who allegedly defiled a class six girl.
The suspected pedophiles include a teacher, a Government retiree, a boda-boda operator and a hotel worker, who are all believed to have taken advantage of the minor over a period of time since last year.
The girl’s distraught mother narrated to the Standard how she found out what had been happening to her daughter.
She said she had sent her daughter to the nearby Kandoloni shopping centre to buy sugar. When the girl failed to return, the mother went searching for her and met a neighbour who told her the girl was bleeding heavily in a nearby forest.
“I did send her on that day, May 11 (this year). Unfortunately she didn’t return home but I was alerted by a neighbour who had found her unconscious and bleeding in the forest,” she said.
According to the girl’s statement to detectives in Kilome, also on the list of men suspected to have taken advantage of her is a close relative. The identity of the boda-boda operator who defiled her is said to have come to light after he helped her to procure an abortion.
Her mother admitted to knowing about the pregnancy but insisted that the girl had refused to reveal the identity of the baby’s father.
At the time of the abortion, the 15-year-old girl was six months pregnant.
She was taken to several dispensaries before being referred to Makueni Level 4 Hospital, where the bleeding was controlled and dead twin fetuses removed.
The girl also opened up about how a teacher defiled her in his house. When he took advantage of her a second time, he gave her Sh100 and warned her of dire consequences if she told anyone and jeopardised his ‘position’ in society.
The teacher is also said to have offered the girl’s family Sh10,000 as “down payment” to clear his name.
The pupil said the men would defile her early in the morning and late in the evening as she went to and from school.
Authorities have been accused of dragging their feet prompting area MP Joshua Kimilu, education stakeholders, and Kilungu security personnel to convene a meeting to discuss the incident.
“Parents who ‘trade’ with the bodies of their children should be warned, and if you are a teacher and it happens that you have a pregnant pupil and you remain silent, then you will be held accountable,” said Kimilu.
Deputy County Commissioner Daniel Dege confirmed the allegations saying, “I can confirm that the issue of the 21 people was reported to us. However, this is a matter that calls for intensive investigation since some suspects have fled.”
Additional Reporting by Standard
