Cases of gender-based violence and rape are still rife in Magarini, Kilifi, with two girls coming out to narrate how they were defiled by older men.
The girls are aged 15 and 16. One of them said an old man lured her with a movie and Sh100 gift before she was dragged into the bush and defiled.
The other said she was defiled on Christmas Eve in the man’s house.
The tales of the two girls are among many cases of defilement and incest not only in Magarini but also in many other parts of Kilifi county.
Last year, the county recorded more than 17,000 cases of teenage pregnancies.
Most victims do not open up. The survivors often disappear after the issues are resolved secretly.
It has taken the great efforts of the Malindi Gender-Based Violence Network to ensure victims open up to get help. Many suspects have been arrested and charged.
Jane Charo (not her real name) says she still remembers the day a man she knew well from her home area defiled her in the bush.
The 16-year-old is now a learner at Kanagoni Primary School.
On that day in 2018, Jane said she met the man on her way home from the shopping centre. He showed her a movie on his mobile phone and asked that they go home and watch it.
She accepted to accompany him to his home and they watched the movie until about 9pm.
The man then asked her to follow him. She thought he would be escorting her home. But he instead defiled her and offered her Sh100.
"He removed my clothes and laid me down on the grass before doing the evil act," Jane told reporters during celebrations to mark International Day of the Girl Child on Monday at Marereni police station in Magarini.
She said her mother later came and found her alone in the bush. The man had disappeared in the darkness.
Jane and her mother went to the man's home but did not find him. After waiting for some time, the man appeared. He denied he had defiled Jane.
The matter was reported to the village elder and then to the Marereni police station and the man was arrested.
Jane, who aspires to be a doctor, says her hope is that justice will prevail.
Another case was that of Anita Njoki (not her real name). The 15-year-old girl from Msumarini village in Magarini said she was defiled on Christmas Eve last year.
Anita said she had gone to a shopping centre when a man she knew lured her into sex. He first asked her to go to his house.
"Once in his house, he asked me to remove my clothes before he repeatedly defiled me until late into the night," she said.
He had threatened to kill her if she screamed or narrated her ordeal to anyone.
The following day, her parents demanded to know where she had spent the night. She narrated what happened.
The matter was reported to the police.
"My father was told to fill a P3 form and in July this year the suspect was arrested and taken to Malindi police station," Anita said.
The case is pending in court.
Anita had to be punished to reveal where she was, her father said. She returned home at 1am that night. The father said the suspect is notorious for such crimes.
At one time, Anita's father said he wanted to take the law into his hands and punish the suspect.
That was long after he had reported the case, yet the suspect was still walking freely in the village. Officials from the Malindi GBV Network urged him to remain patient.
"I would urge other parents with daughters who see them with such behaviours to report the matters to the police so that action is taken against the perpetrators," he said.
Muyu wa Kae village elder Karisa Charo said they rescued nine girls who had been repeatedly defiled in Magarini.
Charo has been at the forefront of campaigning against GBV and sexual violence. He said six of the rescued girls were already pregnant. They were being prepared to be trafficked to Garissa county where they would work as househelps.
Charo said the local community needs a lot of sensitisation to ensure girls are made aware that getting pregnant is not the end of life as one can give birth and still return to class.
He said the community has a bad perception of him and that he has been receiving threats due to his effort to save girls.
"Many cases of defilement are done by boda boda operators, tappers and when you ask the girls why they are lured into sex, they say they have no money to buy some basic needs they require. This calls for parents to ensure they take responsibility," Charo said.
Charo said he has reported over 30 defilement and incest cases at Marereni police station, including the nine that were rescued two months ago.
Malindi GBV Network chairman Ustadh Omar Said said they sensitised the young girls against engaging in early sex as it could lead to teenage pregnancy.
"We have established that here in Magarini, there are many cases of incest, fathers engaging in sex with their children and that's why we decided to hold the celebrations in Marereni to sensitise the girls and community at large against the vice," Omar said.
Edited by P.O