Punish these male misfits out to humiliate women

Caleb Atemi. PHOTO/ COURTESY

My heart almost stopped. I chanced upon two video clips on social media early in the week. One was a heartrending scenario of a mentally deranged Ugandan house help molesting a toddler. The other was graphic image of male villains sexually assaulting a girl on a Githurai route matatu in Nairobi.

I am still seething with anger. Angry that in the 21st Century, despite our claim to democratisation and modernisation, some of our men behave worse than beasts of the wild. Angry that our women are systematically attacked, denigrated and humiliated in public as the nation watches gleefully.

How can a country that produces; a Nobel Laureate, Hollywood stars and Oscar award winners, World and Olympic Champions, globally acclaimed researchers and academicians, biological links with the first Black President of the United States of America; tolerate such misogynistic tendencies?

What started as a sickening attack on a woman on the Embassava Matatu route, seems to be catching demonic fire as more women and girls are molested even by law enforcement officers. Despite protection offered by our new Constitution 2010, an enriching Bill of Rights, and the Sexual Offences Act, we still have perverts roaming the streets of our cities with impunity. They have appointed themselves members of a new puritanical order.

The revulsive acts reminded me of an encounter I had with a group of Somali journalists in 2010. I was commissioned to train 25 journalists from Somalia in journalism and writing skills. My task was to execute an intensive programme that would transform them into writers within one month.

We were taken to a remote location where even telephones could not work. This was to ensure maximum concentration. The tight programme included an hour of karate and fitness every evening to reward the trainees with as relaxed ending.

After two days, I realised that the female trainees had suddenly gone mum. They stopped contributing to debates in class or group assignments. I decided to investigate. Some of the girls intimated to me that the men had threatened them with dire consequences if they did not “behave by keeping quiet and staying meek”.
The following day, I arrived in the training room dressed in my Gi (karate uniform). I asked all men, some who still had their bodies aching from the previous day’s physical work outs, to stand up.

“How many of you love your mothers?” I asked.

“We all do”, they answered in unison.“How many of you love your sisters? “ I posed.“We do love them and we love our daughters too” some of the men answered.

“Would you harass, molest, threaten or beat up your mothers, sisters and daughters?” I asked. Some clenched their fists and swore that they would never do that. They vowed to severely punish anyone who dared molest their female relatives.

“Then why are you threatening your female colleagues enrolled on this course? Are they not your sisters?” I was met with a blanket silence. I told them: “From today henceforth, any man in this room who mistreats any woman will have to face me in combat.” With that military assurance, I restored order and respect for my female trainees.
As I watched the disgusting videos of women molestation, I told myself that this barbaric male behaviour must be stopped immediately and ruthlessly.I was happy to learn that the police had formed a special squad to protect our women. However, I wonder how effective the squad will be considering the vastness of the revulsive misdeeds.

I would like to volunteer assistance through Taikan Martial Arts Academy and the Kenya Karate Federation (KKF) where I was formerly the chairman, to boost the special squad.We could rapidly mobilise men and women, well trained in combat and self-defense to help bring order on our streets. I would relish watching these maniacs and miscreants attempt to sexually assault a karate, taekwondo or aikido black-belt miniskirt clad woman or girl. I seek God’s forgiveness to momentarily act as a sadist as I watch them being thoroughly beaten and their manhood uprooted.I may sound cruel but what cruelty can match that meted on the girl on the Githurai Matatu? Would these men undress and sexually assault their own mothers, sisters or daughters? If the answer is in the negative, then what gives them the right to assault other people’s mothers, sisters and daughters?

No one has any right to act as the moral or dress police in Kenya. I know of many hypocrites who preach to our women the sermon of the dress code and the road to heaven yet will solicit sexual services under the cover of darkness or will taunt and haunt female church members.

Senator James Orengo was right when many years ago, during the burial of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga said that: “Hypocrites are forever swines of human civilization” We should not allow these pretenders to damage the lives of our young women.

As the government tackles the runaway insecurity in the country, it must firmly deal with these male misfits that are giving Kenya and Kenyans a bad name.