A woman has taken to social media to narrate the harrowing suffering the mother endured in the hands of her husband till she finally died.
In what epitomizes police inaction, another woman also took to the same media to narrate the painful journey of seeking justice for a mentally challenged daughter who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a relative in Karen in May.
But the two cases, both pointing to police inaction, are just but a tip of the iceberg with reports indicating that the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), and other bodies are currently handling thousands of complaints.
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In the first case, the daughter narrated how his stepfather would assault the mother, including the numerous visits to the hospital and police stations.
“I have never been one to pen my heart out but my heart is beyond crushed … a lot of times rattled with anger and helplessness. I can’t get any justice for my mom but I can at least be honest about what we all went through,” she wrote.
“Anyone that knew my mom admired her strength, her class, she was beautiful, hardworking, ever-smiling, a lady with a pure heart, super prayerful too. Just pure,” she wrote.
She added that the tears and trauma she went through were quite the opposite of what anyone would see.
“I’ll never get to see her again. The pain I have as a daughter, the pain I’ve had to watch our family deal with. My heart breaks times over … no child deserves to see a parent’s scars from a beating she took, to watch her get treatment for broken wrists,” she said.
The deceased, according to medical records, suffered orbital fractures and had strangled marks.
“I always lived in fear of losing my mom. And just recently my biggest fear slapped me in my face,” she said.
She said the stepfather always promised he would stop, in vain. The deceased finally fell into depression and became an alcoholic.
“She only drank when he beat her up,” she said.
The stepfather is said to have woken up at about 4 am and found the wife cold.
He, however, never informed the neighbours. Later, the family members and the police visited the home and removed the body.
“I feel like the Kenya police failed us. Even after filing a report, nothing happened. It’s like paperwork that’s just stored. Does someone have to be dead to get attention? My mom deserves a voice,” she said.
She concluded by saying: “To any friends of my mom who tried to help her, I thank you. Domestic violence doesn’t only affect the people getting hit, it affects everyone around them. I probably have a lifetime of therapy to do. My mom didn’t deserve this. That’s my story. That’s my reality.”
Another woman also shared the harrowing experience in seeking justice for her daughter.
“My daughter was raped in her late grandmother’s house in Karen in which my daughter’s aunt resides,” she wrote.
She said the perpetrators were the victim’s cousin and his friends.
Further, she claimed that the aunt physically assaulted the victim.
A doctor’s report indicated that she was burnt by a hot iron box on the left thigh.
The aunt allegedly sent an uncle to pick the daughter and take her to the mother who resides in Athi River.
“I then reported the incident at Athi River Police Station then I was referred to Karen police station,” she wrote.
They were issued with a police medical examination form (P3) and the victim was examined at the Nairobi Women’s Hospital, Kitengela branch.
She alleged that at one point she was accompanied by officers from Karen to arrest the suspects but the officers were later ordered not to.
After failing to get justice, she reported to the Nairobi Region Police Commander Philip Ndolo who again referred her to the Langata Sub-County police boss (OCPD).
Still, she was not helped, prompting her to write to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) on June 10.
