ISSUE 090, September 17-30, 2013
National Summit on Gender Based Violence and Peace
9
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
Offenders evade justice as minors withdraw from cases By Faith Muiruri Constant withdrawal from on-going cases by victims of sexual and gender based violence has derailed efforts to bring offenders to book. According to Tabitha Akoth Ouya, officer in charge of the Sexual and Gender Based Violence Unit at the office of Director of Public Prosecution, most victims especially minors withdraw from the cases before they can be concluded in court. “I receive numerous cases requesting for withdrawal of cases involving minors. When we receive the files, we review all issues before us to ascertain whether the request is valid but in very few circumstances do we allow withdrawal of cases,” Ouya said. She noted that although the Sexual Offences Act provides that no case can be withdrawn from court except with the permission of the Director of Public Prosecutions, handling of cases involving teenage victims of sexual and gender based violence particularly girls aged between 16-18 years old remains a big challenge as majority are unwilling to proceed with the cases after withdrawal. “Majority claim that they are either married or are in a sexual relationship with the accused persons and thus are unwilling to proceed with the case. The cases become tricky to pursue despite the overwhelming evidence because there are no complainants and there are no provisions in law to deal with such situations,” she explained during the National Summit on Gender Based Violence and Peace. She noted that in some cases, parents are frustrated as some are willing to testify but the legal framework is not adequate to tackle such issues. “In most cases we have to consider petitions presented by the complainants,” said Ouya, citing the case of a girl in Keroka who has written to the court saying she is no longer interested in the case because the man who defiled her
is her boyfriend and wants the case terminated. “In cases where the girl has turned 18 and does not want to proceed with the case, we ask them to appear in court and testify that no one has forced them to withdraw the case so that it goes on record that they willingly pulled out of the case,” Ouya explained. She added: “This helps the court to make final decision based on the available evidence.” She says that cases regarding children are also delicate and in most instances are not concluded. According to Ouya, children are more often helpless and investigators sometimes tell the court that parents have relocated and they cannot, therefore, find the witnesses. “However, the police have to certify that the witnesses are actually not available but we insist where children are involved, we can proceed with the case if there is medical evidence,” she said. At the same time, Ouya explained that the Director of Public Prosecution has established a Sexual and Gender Based Violence Unit which plays a critical role in the area of prosecution, advising the police, reviewing of all cases brought to them. “We are also engaged in the training and sensitisation of police prosecutors, judicial officers and investigators on gender based violence. Ouya said that with support from the Women Justice Empowerment Initiative, the office of Director of Public
The front entrance to the Nairobi Law Courts. It is reported that most victims especially minors withdraw from their cases before they can be concluded in court. Picture: Reject Correspondent Prosecutions has been engaged in specialized training on forensic investigation. “This is a key area where we have continued to face challenges in regard to the management of forensic evidence,” Ouya observed. In November last year, a total of 18 advocates were appointed and gazetted all over the country to deal with gender based violence cases. “We have good lawyers who want
to play an active role in prosecution of gender based violence cases and we are hoping to gazette more,” she explained. Plans are also underway to absorb police prosecutors into the Prosecution Department. “As we devolve to the counties, we are going to continuously recruit prosecutors. Cases will now be handled by counsels or prosecutors supervised by counsels to have a more professional approach,” she noted.
“Handling of cases involving teenage victims of sexual and gender based violence particularly girls aged between 16-18 years old remains a big challenge as majority are unwilling to proceed with the cases after withdrawal. — Tabitha Akoth Ouya, officer in charge of the Sexual and Gender Based Violence Unit, DPP’s Office
She pointed out that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions will officially launch the newly developed prosecution policy guidelines, which is key in the management of GBV. Delegates at the summit called for the strengthening of custody of evidence system, increased number of investigators and providing victims with qualified lawyers. They also proposed for the establishment of a national agency to specifically collect, collate and analyse data on GBV trends. Delegates also urged for evaluation and documenting of emerging jurisprudence on GBV litigation, which incorporates successful prosecutions, sentences served and rehabilitation of offenders. They called for a comprehensive research on gaps in the prosecutorial system and continuous engagement with cultural leaders and the Judiciary on how to adjudicate on “kangaroo courts”.
How perpetrators wish they could turn back hands of time By ODHIAMBO ORLALE It is not every day that a perpetrator of gender based violence comes out of the closet to tell his side of the story. Most perpetrators are usually men who are withdrawn, hostile and media shy for obvious reasons. So it was a shock when Musa Okutoyi braved a high-profile national meeting of over 200 delegates to share what goes on in the mind of a violent man who used to prefer to make war rather than love to his wife by turning her into a punching bag at the slightest excuse. According to the most recent Kenya Demographic Health Survey (2008-2009), men are the main perpetrators of violence in their different roles; as intimate partners of women and girls, close relatives, and as persons with authority over women and girls such as employers and teachers. In the 2010 a FIDA study showed that 79.2 per cent of respondents identified men as perpetrators compared with 14.6 per cent who cited female spouses as perpetrators. In his speech, Okutoyi said: “I am now a happy man after I abandoned my intolerant, suspicious and beastly nature four years ago to join the anti-violence campaigners.” Today, Okutoyi is a community activist with the Coalition on Violence against Women (COVAW) and has since reformed. He is appealing to perpetrators to also change their evil ways and join him in the campaign to end violence against women. Says Okutoyi: “I used to do all sorts inhumane
acts to my wife whenever I got annoyed. I would beat her at my whim. This caused me dearly as my first, second and third marriages broke. I have married four times and all have ended up in a mess because of my being violent.” Indeed, he is one of the hundreds of men who have made the lives of their spouses, children, relatives and in-laws a nightmare due to the unwarranted violence.
Justify
Without trying to justify his illegal action, Okutoyi was brought up in an environment where beating a wife was the order of the day. His father would beat his mother at the slightest ‘mistake’. Okutoyi then picked up the behaviour and characteristics of a child who has grown in an environment where he is exposed to violence. He learnt that as man he would have to be a perpetrator of violence. He would use the slightest excuse to instigate violence and these would include actions such as arriving late in the evening, not cooking food for children, not bringing hot water for her spouse to bath with in time among others.
Looking back with regret, Okutoyi says he is now ashamed and remorseful for having destroyed his previous marriages just because of his selfishness, pride and arrogance. “I am now begging my former wives to forgive me for what I had done. I believe in the Swahili saying “kuteleza sio kuanguka (To slip is not fall),” He says adding “I made my mistakes and I am ready to be forgiven”. Okutoyi advises those men who are starting a family to love, respect and treat their spouses with care and responsibly. However, he was not alone at the Summit. Okutoyi was not alone in this. Another perpetrator John Wanyama also came out in the open and confessed on how he used to beat his wife leading to their separation. The wife was forced to run away, taking off with their two children for the sake of their safety and lives. Says Wanyama: “I used to travel to all over the world. To the United States of America, Netherlands, Uganda and Tanzania among other countries to perform in the leading capitals in the world.”
“I used to do all sorts inhumane acts to my wife whenever I got annoyed. I would beat her at my whim. This caused me dearly as my first, second and third marriages broke. I have married four times and all have ended up in a mess because of my being violent.” — Moses Okutoyi
He explains: “I had a wife and twins. However, when things started going wrong and I was no longer in the jet set life, I would pour out my frustrations on them. I would to beat them up thoroughly.” Wanyama says he felt that he had not married a woman of his stature. “I fought a psychological war with myself. At one point I froze funds to her and my children. I would use force at the slightest provocation.”
Force
In another incident, he beat her up thoroughly forcing her to jump out of the window and was seriously injured as she fell to the ground. It is then that Wanaka’s wife decided to take off never to return. “I was lonely, she went underground. I had to think through it, I decided to change my lifestyle. As a man I believed that I was not expected to cry. I reached a point when I felt I had to change my life,” says the reformed perpetrator. Since then, his wife has restored their communication links and allows him to telephone and talk regularly to their daughters who are in Standard Eight. Says Wanyama: “How I wish I could turn back the clock. Life would have been different for me and my daughters today.” His message to other perpetrators of violence is that they need to read the writing on the wall and learn from his experience that life is not a rehearsal. “They should instead promote love and friendship with their spouses and children,” he says.