Post-election rape victims awarded Sh16 million

 

Four victims of sexual and gender-based violence during the 2007/2008 election violence have been awarded Sh16 million.

It was a sweet victory for the four women after waiting 13 years to get justice for the humiliation they faced at the hands of uniformed police officers who raped and assaulted them during the chaos that followed the disputed presidential election.

Weldon Korir ruled that the government failed citizens by not taking measures to protect them during the violence that rocked the country, and which resulted in the violation of the victims' rights, injuries to their bodies and psychological torture.

“The state had a duty to enforce laws that prohibit all forms of violence against women, including forced sex. Sexual violence carries with it physical and mental pain. I am satisfied that the victims' rights were violated by state actors, who should have protected them,” ruled Justice Korir.

According to the judge, three of the victims proved beyond doubt that they were raped by General Service Unit officers while the fourth victim was gang-raped by men known to her, but who police did not take action against even after the incident was reported.

He, however, declined to award four other women who were assaulted and raped by the public, saying there were no records that they reported the matter to police who failed to take action.

The petition was filed on behalf of victims by Coalition on Violence Against Women, Independent Medico-Legal Unit, the Kenyan section of International Commission of Jurists, and Physicians for Human Rights.