Help rape victims have the last laugh, legally

Incest, sodomy and rape cases are on the upsurge. The downside is that many culprits walk away free for lack of evidence. This is because in many cases the victims, often babies between a few days and eight years old cannot positively identify their tormentors; that is the beauty of laws that demand positive, unequivocal identification.

Some victims are visually impaired or mentally challenged. That paedophiles are on the prowl is not in doubt. With gayism, as detestable as it is having gained quasi-official recognition, neither the girl nor boy child is safe from sexual abuse.

Often, men involved are adults who should know better but succumb to the beastly side of the human nature; an aspect that mankind has been unable to outlive. Yet that is not good enough reason indulge in such bestiality. The law, as we know, has not succeeded in making humanity absolutely rational. It is basically designed to bring out the best in us; outlining the do and don’ts of an orderly society. But despite all that, man will always strive to break the law.

For decades, the government has been paying perfunctory attention to the problem of alcoholism. No amount of legislation has stopped men from drinking themselves to death. It is despicable, but there are debatable reasons for it.

Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu, a controversial legislator, came up with a solution that though illegal, achieved in two days what government agencies have failed to achieve in decades. The Waititu revolution received public acclaim and in so doing betrayed the fact that the beasts in us are more amenable to violence and knee jerk reactions. The law is dammed if the end results justify it.

While the law has changed in keeping with the times, the behaviour in some of us is increasingly moving in the opposite direction; into medieval times. This calls for shock therapy. Perhaps if Parliament engaged itself in a productive endeavour for once, the re-enactment of some of the brute medieval laws that were more effective would jolt the reprobates into modernity.

Take the case of the two burly MPs from central Kenya whose mental faculties are not equally burly having shown the way forward. Yes, they are proponents of barbarism; urging supporters to hack opponents, fighting illicit brews with pangas and rungus; causing damage, the occasional injuries here and there and making no apologies about it. These are the men championing President Kenyatta’s cause; helping shape his legacy and writing it in indelible ink.

In 14th century England, punishment for rape and other crimes was severe. The laws of the crown granted rape victims the right to exact revenge by allowing them to mutilate or castrate their attackers. In medieval times between the 5th and 15th century, the victim’s family reserved the right to execute the criminal. Given the severity of the punishment, rape cases were rare. Those are the type of laws we need today to excommunicate the emergent beasts in society.

Human rights proponents have abused their privilege. Parliament would do well to pass legislation that criminalises the overt activities of sympathisers and those who would come to the defence of rapists. Under the guise of human rights, people who should otherwise be taken out of society permanently have been let off the hook to continue with their henious activities. The human rights of the young innocent victims take precedence over the culprits who know fully well they are committing a felony and must contend with the law.