Reflections: My Neighbors They Raped Me

On the first of January 2008 we were still fearful. We didn’t open our business.

I worked at the Eldama Ravine shopping centre at Mama Faith’s Shop. We owned the shop. It was just next to my house – they are joined together.

But I stayed at home that day because I was scared. We left the shop locked up.

More?

Do Not Forget Congo

It is very tragic the events in Congo. Below are links to two of our latest published articles on Congo.

1. Fear of emancipatory history in the DRC: From Kimpa Vita to Lumumba to the women of Panzi. As events unfold in the DRC the usual questions are being asked: who is responsible for the current war within the war which never really ended in 2003 and its ensuing humanitarian crisis? In the pages of one of the most respected dailies of Kinshasa (Le Potentiel) well-known philosophers have offered conflicting ways of looking at, and analysing, the conflict. Who is General Nkunda, and why has he said that this time around that he will not stop in Goma (threatening to go all the way to Kinshasa)? 
2. What The World Owes Congo. Last summer, the national news media announced the deaths of four gorillas killed in a national park in eastern Congo. A United Nations delegation was quickly dispatched to investigate. As a Congolese living in the United States and hungry for news from back home, I was thankful for the coverage. But since my grandparents still live in east Congo, I would have also liked to have heard about some other recent breaking news items: women being raped, children being enslaved, men being killed and many more horrors.

An end to justice

In South Africa it is estimated that almost 58 children are the victim’s of rape or attempted rape everyday. This constitutes 41% of all rape cases reported.

Kenya became in 2006 one of the few southern African countries to enact Sexual Offences legislation, but does she really have the economic resources and the political goodwill for this legislation to transmute into a practical reality? As Kenya slips closer to the disturbing trends in South Africa it becomes necessary to ensure that the legislative framework that is the Sexual Offences Act is an effective means by which sexual offences can be curbed.

Read more from L. Akitelek Papakemus.

FIDA: Elitist Or Not?

When Keriako Tobiko, arguing before the high court, labeled FIDA as “busy bodies”, the statement attracted angry reactions from the feminist movement in Kenya.

Tobiko was then in private practice ,representing former cabinet minister Julius Sunkuli in a rape case. Many saw his remarks as utterly disrespectful of FIDA . Tobiko was arguing his client’s case , which was finally withdrawn, and a whole soap opera followed. I am sure you all know the story of how the girl in question appeared on TV after withdrawing the complaint.

Rebecca Wanjiku shows why she thinks FIDA is elitist. What do you think? Have your say here.

The Agony of Rape

“Why is my stomach aching, I am feeling so bad, why mum, why?” Jane asked as she got off the vehicle.

Jane is eight; she was raped at the Ngomongo village in Kiambu. I met her yesterday, she was being taken back to Kiambu District hospital for a further check up on her condition. Her mother could not explain to the little girl why she was in so much pain. The little girl herself cannot even tell whether the pain is in her stomach or in her private parts, it’s all too much for her and she looks dazed.

To add to all her trauma, Jane is mentally challenged. This the consequence of an attack of pneumonia when she was five. Her mother says her life has never been the same since.

Rebecca Wanjiru recounts the rape of a child, and lack of legal protection. Read and comment here.