Widows and schoolgirls in Okanda village, Bondo sub-county, now barricade their doors with chairs and bricks after an unknown attacker broke into four homes in four weeks and raped or tried to rape women who were alone. Everlyne Magero, whose window was smashed two weeks ago, said the intruder only fled when her neighbours heard her screams.
“He targets widows and any house he believes has only women or girls. Several of us have been raped; others fought him off,” she told reporters on Monday. Lilian Asiro, a local secondary student, recalled the night the man removed the steel burglar bars from her bedroom window.
“I screamed until people came. He ran before they caught him,” she said, adding that she now sleeps in the main house with her parents.
Assistant Chief Denis Ojwang confirmed he has received four formal complaints of rape and attempted rape between mid-July and 10 August. He said many more women have reported privately but refuse to record statements at the police station because they fear stigma or revenge.
