Resilience Amidst Pain: Joyce Akoth’s Fight Against Repeated Defilement

Dennis Juma is Joyce Akoth’s (not her real name) biological father who reported to REEP offices in Butula on 18/08/2023 that Joyce has been on different occasions for a period of 1 year defiled by Erick Mugambi who operates a chemist at Ogina market.

The child narrated that she was staying with her mother at Boro Nango village and one day when she visited a chemist with her mother when she was sick, her mother introduced her to a chemist man Erick Mugambi. Erick after agreeing with the mother to be releasing Joyce to him after school and on the weekends. During these visits, Erick would defile her and promise pay her school fees in addition to this, he started to give Joyce’s mother money. In the process she became pregnant and he (Erick-a chemist) forced the girl to procure an abortion in his chemist. He carried out the procedure himself.

One of the perpetrators neighbor noticed that Joyce was frequently visiting that house in school uniform and alerted Bukhalalire police station to help out rescue the child the perpetrator instead liaised with the police to start blackmailing the child that she should cooperate anytime she is needed or else he would hurt her. She sometimes did not go to school with the perpetrators command not to so as to visit him in his house who was also liaising with the mother.

Joyce became overwhelmed with the perpetrator’s habit of defiling and physically assaulting her and she sought refuge at her neighbor home Mrs. Tatu Musa phone who helped her to trace her father Dennis Juma’s home since the parents do not stay together.  They separated after her birth and both remarried. The ordeal was reported to Bumala police station under OB 22/**/*/23.  The mother to Joyce was arrested and arraigned in Busia law courts and the case is ongoing. The police officer from Bukhalalire who was assisting the perpetrator to threaten Joyce was also arrested and faced disciplinary action but and the perpetrator Erick Mugambi run away and is currently at large.

REEP was in touch with both Joyce and her father and continued providing psychosocial counseling for the survivor. REEP also facilitated in transferring the child from Ikonzo secondary to Mabunge Secondary where she is currently in form four and the father has been paying school fees.

On 07/05/2024 Joyce came to REEP office once again with Mrs. Tatu Musa and she that she has been defiled by her father Mr. Dennis Juma at three different instances twice in November of 2023 and once in December of 2023 claiming that previously when she was living with the step father, she was bewitched and she might not be able to bear children in future thus as her biological father he must cleanse her.  When she reported the matter to her step mother, she warned him not to report the matter to anyone since it would not only destroy her marriage but her father too would be arrested.

So as he was defiling her he would give her a concussion to drink so that it can help her to bear children once she is an adult. She reports that the last time he defiled her was on 29th December 2023.  The matter has been reported to the police and the biological father is now at large

REEP had secured a safe shelter for Joyce but her mother’s husband together with her mother who is currently out on bail took her in and scared her from going to any safe shelter. The step father also turned violent and wielded a machete to anyone who attempted to rescue Joyce.