Arrest and prosecute sex pests, says DP Ruto

Deputy President William Ruto has condemned last week’s incident where a woman was stripped in public at Embakasi, Nairobi.

Noting that is was against her rights, Ruto noted that the woman had the right to dress the way she deemed fit and those who undressed her in public must face the full force of the law.

Speaking at Chwele Girls High school, Bungoma County, the Deputy President Ruto asked Kenyans  to respect the rights of women, children and other vulnerable members of the society and avoid taking the law into  their own hands whenever their sensibilities have been offended.

The DP at the same time decried increased cases of pregnancies among schoolgirls in  Bungoma and noted that it was a major drawback to the education of the girl child.

He said: “Those  who impregnate schoolgirls must be dealt with  according to the law. I ask chiefs and their assistants  to take action on such sex pests.”

Ruto also called for quick action on the men who strip ladies for wearing short dresses and skirts.

“I don’t know where you people come from. How does a woman’s dressing affect you? What is your problem? Let people wear what they want,” said Ruto.

The Deputy President added: “Those who undress women in public and those who impregnate schoolgirls are from the same religion. They all must be prosecuted. We do not want to live in a primitive world where people do not respect the rights of others, especially of women and children”.

Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo has at the same time urged the lady to report to any police station and have her statement taken to allow police investigateions.

Through the Police Spokesperson, Gatiria Mboroki, the IG said the National Police Service was keen to bring the perpetrators to book in line with the video clip that the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko forwarded to the police for investigations.

“The lady who was stripped has not reported the matter to any police station so far,” said Mboroki.

The DPP on Wednesday forwarded the video clip showing a lady being stripped naked in Nairobi to the Director of Criminal Investigations for review.

Tobiko said the idea was to allow the sleuths to use the video in “identifying, apprehending and bringing to justice the perpetrators of this heinous incident.”

The IG did not comment about a similar incident that reportedly occurred in Mombasa.

At the same time, female university students have threatened to hold a demonstration in Nairobi tomorrow following the undressing of a student this weekat a bus terminus in the capital’s Central Business District.

Kenya Female Student Leaders Association chairperson Miss Irene Kendi said they have given Matatu Owners Association a three-day ultimatum to punish those who undressed the student. “What happened to our colleague is unacceptable. We want the touts produced by tomorrow morning or else, we will paralyse the matatu industry operations in the CBD on Monday,” she said.

Kendi said cases of women being harassed and molested have been on the rise and this has prompted them to spring up and act. “Women have decried this uncouth behaviour, which is now gaining fame. We condemn this vice and it must stop forthwith,” she said. The student representatives from the University of Nairobi, Moi, Kenyatta, Maseno, Egerton and Mount Kenya universities also chastised the mistreatment of women by men, saying girls in primary and secondary schools have been victims of rape and sexual harassment for a long time. They the urged Government to arrest and prosecute perpetrators of such acts.

At the same time, they asked victims to boldly report to the authorities their experiences for quick action .

Kendi, who is also Students Organisation of Nairobi University’s Deputy President, said women should be left free to wear what they want.

However, she urged ladies to dress up with dignity to avoid not being seen as objects for sex but as potential leaders.

She also urged women to venture into income generating activities to become independent and responsible members of the society.