More than a million signatures have been added to an online petition calling for justice in the alleged gang rape of a Kenyan girl.
The case involving the 16-year-old girl identified only by the pseudonym “Liz” sparked outrage after some of her alleged attackers were reportedly set free with a simple act of community service as their punishment.
According to Kenya’s Daily Nation, Liz was walking home from her grandfather’s funeral on June 26 when six men allegedly attacked her, gang raping her for several hours before tossing her beat-up body in a six-metre deep latrine pit.
Although Liz survived the attack, she suffered internal injuries and her back was broken when she was dropped into the pit. She has been confined to a wheelchair.
Liz recognized three of the men and was able to name them, the Daily Nation reported. Villagers in the community of Butula, in the northwest county of Busia, brought the three accused assailants to the police camp.
They were let go and told to cut the grass around the camp.
“The three, for some strange reason, were only ordered to cut grass around the police camp and set free shortly after,” the girl’s mother told the Daily Nation. “In the meantime, the police told me to take the girl home so that she could take a shower before taking her to hospital.”
The Guardian reported three of the attackers are students at nearby schools.
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“After stories appeared in local newspapers, officers were finally sent to arrest those still in school. Teachers at one of the schools asked if the arrests could be postponed to allow them to take part in exams. The request was granted and police claimed afterwards that they were ‘tricked’ by the teachers, who helped the pupils go into hiding,” the Guardian reported.
Outrage grew in Kenya in the months since the attack, but the story is now catching global attention.
“…Women’s groups in Kenya say nothing will truly change unless the government is put under the global spotlight,” the petition reads.
“The victim has suffered the worst form of sexual abuse and her aggravated situation has denied her the right to pursue her education,” Winifred Kichuma, chairperson of the National Gender and Equality Commission, told the Daily Nation last week. “It is disturbing that no suspects have been arrested. The explanation that they have gone underground is, at the very least, preposterous and reeks of a calculated move to scuttle the case.”
But Kenya’s top cop, Inspector-General David Kimaiyo, has also taken to Twitter in an attempt to quell the fury over the case.
He reportedly tweeted the following message from his verified account on Oct. 26: “Thank you all for tweets #JusticeforLiz. The matter is almost concluded and suspects have been arraigned in court awaiting hearing date. IG’’
That tweet is no longer visible on his account, although two tweets tagged #JusticeForLiz remain.
A report published Sunday suggests no arrests have been made yet.
“There are no arrests yet. The file is in Nairobi with the DPP and we cannot move until we get instructions from that office,” Criminal Investigation Dept. Officer Washington Muthee told the Sunday Nation.
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