By KANERE staff writer, February 2019
A South Sudanese woman was allegedly raped in her house in Kalobeyei settlement on the night of February 3rd, 2019 at 1:00am when two unknown attackers armed with crude weapons entered the house. They had followed the woman as she returned from her relatives’ house, where she had been visiting and watching television.
“I heard a sound but thought it was cats or something, when I realized that two men had followed me home,” she recounted, trying to hold back tears.
According to a local security guard interviewed by KANERE, he was awakened by cry for help in the house.
The victim went on, “They put big machetes on my neck and started beating me. I saw one man with machete and another with a big metal stool. One of the attackers hit me in the face with a very big hand. The other attacker pulled my leg while the man with the machete started showing a sign not to make any sound to warn those patrolling the area.”
A refugee staff who work for Lutheran World Federation (LWF) told KANERE, “Now a days things are very complicated. The security situations is not dependable.”
“They warned me they would kill me if Idid not cooperate; the attackers forced me and started raping me in turns. I was forced not to make any move or dare to scream; otherwise I would risk being killed. One of the attackers was always standing by, ready to take action if I resisted. They repeatedly warned me in Swahili that if I screamed, they would kill anyone who came to the rescue.”
The event took place in Village 1, Compound 6. “The house where they raped me is just next to my mother’s shelter. I feared she might hear the sound and come to check on me. They raped me continuously. They beat me, even though I did not resist the second man who raped me. I received kicks, slaps and punches on my face, chest and legs. Even when I could not make any move, because I felt so helpless and weak. In that awful situation, the last thing I could remember that night was the assault by the second rapist. Then I lost consciousness. The following morning, I found myself on the hospital bed.”
After the armed men had gone, the family found her and raised an alarm. Local guards and members of the community responded quickly, but by the time they arrived the suspects had long disappeared.
The matter was reported to the Kenya Police stationed at the Kalobeyei Settlement. The woman arrived in Kakuma in 2016 with her family after fleeing the war in South Sudan.
The agency which is normal assumed to be comforting refugee victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) has not attended to the victim’s case.