Rape suspect to appear in court on Monday

By MICHAEL MUGWANG’A

Kenya: One of the six suspected men who raped a 16-year-old girl nine months ago will appear in court on Monday.

The girl was reportedly gangraped and thrown into unused pit latrine on June 26, 2013 as she returned home form the burial of her grandfather.

But human rights activists say though this is a step in the right direction, the move is a bit too little as it still leaves out the other five suspects.

Avaaz, one of the global organisations that have been on the forefront of the campaign to have Liz’s attackers face full force of the law, said the pursuit of justice should not only capture the six suspects in the case but also the police officers whom the case was initially reported to and who released the suspects on a “mere grass cutting punishment”.

The organisation’s Campaign Director Emma Ruby-Sachs said in a statement send to newsrooms that Kenya risks a negative reputation globally if it does not bring the police officers and all the suspects to account for their acts of ommission and commission.

“Instead of helping the victim of this brutal attack, the officers have acted like the rapists’ best friends. With the five accused on the run and no action against the police and the whole world looking on, Kenya now has a global reputation for rape. Only tough and effective action will stop this label of shame from sticking,” said Ms Ruby-Sachs.

But, the Kenya Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (IPOA) said it has done its investigations and will soon be releasing a report and recommendations on the conduct of the police officers involved.

Macharia Njeru, the IPOA’s chairman told The Standard that the compilation of the report was at “the tail end” and the investigators will be releasing it in a short while.