She was raped, infected with HIV and impregnated: Kibera woman recounts how it all happened in 2007

Image result for sexual offences in kenya

Mercy (not her real name) was infected with HIV after a horrendous rape incident by five security officers in 2007 when violence broke out following an announcement that President Mwai Kibaki had won the election.

As the rapists wrestled her, she lost five teeth. Over time, she got some replaced. The incident happened in the presence of her mother and siblings, but Mercy was left with something more – a pregnancy.

Ten years later, Mercy’s child is a constant reminder of the rape ordeal, not to mention the antiretroviral drugs she must take.

But in a repeat horror just 11 months ago, two other men – she cannot tell whether they were security agencies or not – raped her at the height of the hotly contested presidential election of 2017.

Image result for sexual offences in kenya

“They just carried on from where the rest left,” she said in a tone depicting resignation to fate, before breaking down in tears.

Her story is not over.  In 2007, Mercy’s elder brother who was 17 at the time tried to challenge the officers who raped her. He was shot right inside their two-bedroom rental house as the watched.

“He told them that he could not watch as his sister was being raped,” she said amid tears. After a prolonged wait to allow her sob, she added, “they did not only kill him, they carried his body and hid it.”

It was only four months after former President Kibaki and his main rival Raila Odinga made peace that they received his body.

Image result for sexual offences in kenya

Their ageing mother has since died. She witnessed her daughter being raped and a son being shot dead and would be distressed to know her daughter was raped yet again in a similar circumstances.

“They are both gone. At times I used to wonder why I am not the one,” Mercy says. She admits she has thought of committing suicide – not once – but even recently.

Image result for sexual offences in kenya

And if she did it, she said, she would not leave her baby to suffer. “I had prepared some poisonous substance for my baby and myself but something told me to hold on a little bit. It is not easy to take drugs every day,” she said, facing away from this reporter.

“Until I went for counselling, it was not easy. I would not be here with you sharing my story. I would never even share a seat with a man in a matatu,” she asserted with a firm, but bitter voice.

Mercy is healing, albeit gradually.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *