Anger as pharmacist walks scot-free after raping 15-year-old

Residents of Taboino Sub-location in Bomet County, are reeling in shock and disappointment after a pharmacist who is alleged to have raped and deliberately infected a 15-year old girl with HIV was arrested then released in Mogogosiek Police Station.

The pharmacist, who operates a drug shop in Kobelgor shopping center is reported to have locked the form one girl in his house and raped her the whole night of Sunday 10th Dec. The girl's mother, who does casual jobs for a living, on the afternoon of the day of the incident had sent her to pick her wages from the pharmacist whom she had plucked his tea some days earlier.

"There was some money that the pharmacist had not paid me for the work I did for him. So on that Sunday afternoon, I sent my daughter to pick the money from his house which is a long distance from my own home," Agnes narrated. "Given the long distance, and that it was already late in the afternoon, I had instructed my daughter to pick the money and on her way back, spent a night at our family friend's house not far from the pharmacist house," she added.

Unknown to her, the pharmacist, who had not opened his Chemist that day, would deceive the girl to wait for him inside his house as he allegedly went for the money from the nearest Mpesa outlet. The unsuspecting girl waited for him inside the locked room until late in the night when the pharmacist arrived and told her not to worry for he would give her a ride home on a boda-boda.

He slyly delayed the girl until very late in the night when he finally raped her repeatedly until morning when he released her with threats in case she would reveal what had happened to anyone. "When my daughter got back home on Monday morning, she was in pain and on questioning her, she told me what had happened.

We made a report at Assistant Chief's office who then called Bomet Police Station and requested for a vehicle to take us to the Station and later to Longisa Hospital for tests and it was confirmed that she was indeed raped and infected with HIV," Agnes tearfully narrated.

Confirming the incident, Ngainet Sub-location assistant Chief Recho Too, said given that the victim was resident of her area, the incident was reported to her office. She further said that together with members of the public and the area MCA, they did a prompt fundraiser that enabled the girl's mother to purchase drugs that were prescribed for the girl at Longisa Hospital.

The Assistant Chief also said she communicated with her counterpart in Taboino; Cheptalal (where the pharmacist resides) during the day of his arrest on 21st December; more than a week after the incident. On his part, Taboino Assistant Chief, Joel Mutai, too confirmed that the incident took place in his location and that the culprit was arrested on Thursday 21st December.

Taboino residents have expressed their disappointment and have requested that investigation is carried out to establish how the perpetrator of such crime could be allowed to walk out scot-free.