Burnt in his sleep: Inside men's struggle in abusive relationships

Boiling water in a sufuria. [GettyImages]

Ishmael Oundo, 26, still struggles to sleep through the night.

Even when exhaustion finally overpowers the pain, he startles awake at the slightest sound, his body tensing instinctively, as if bracing for another attack. Sleep, once a refuge after long days of hustling as a matatu driver, has become an uneasy truce between memory and fear.