Bilha’s Battle: A Survivor’s Journey Through Marital & Sexual Assault

A 25 year old girl let’s call her “Bilha” (not her name) was working in Nairobi as a househelp however, the recent floods rendered her jobless and she returned home in Busia county. On 20th May, Bilha’s mother sent her and her 15 year old sister to Murumba market to charge 2 phones and buy green grams and flour for their samosa business.

After purchasing the items, she sent her sister home and then she stayed behind to wait for the charging phones. At 6:00pm phones were fully charged and she withdrew some money from Mpesa. She then proceeded to the stage where she met a boda boda man and they agreed that she will pay ksh 50 to Busiada. The man then told her to wait for her as he went to buy supper for his family. He later came back with flour and omena and requested that she allow him to drop the food to his home first before they proceed to her destination.

At this time it was lightly drizzling and the road was deserted as people had sought shelter. They rode past Khunyangu hospital when the boda boda man made a sudden stop and withdrew a knife from his waist and warned her not to make a sound otherwise he would kill her and dump her body on the road. He then tied her hands back using the motorbike rubber jumped on his motorbike and sped off warning her not to dare jump off. At Emagombe, the bodaboda man then made another stop and made a call.

During the call Bilha heard the boda boda man tell someone on the other end that ‘prepare yourselves I’m bringing a girl’. He then proceeded off to Ibanda village and rode into an abandoned home, untied her hands, took her off the motorbike and carried her on his shoulders into a house in the home. In the house there was 1 bed with a blue mattress on it, a bedsheet and 1 light blanket. In the house there were 5 men waiting. The boda boda man then put her on the bed and 2 men started pulling off her trousers and panties. Three men also undressed fully and 3 men held her down.

Three men then started taking turns raping her repeatedly. One of the men held a Fanta bottle and a panga and told her that if she did not cooperate, they would insert the bottle inside her vagina, slaughter her and throw her body in a bush. She pleaded for her life and the men continued repeatedly raped her. After they were finished, the men sat on the bed and one stood guard at the door. At this moment Bilha gathered all her strength and dashed out of the house naked.

The six men all started pursuing her and eventually caught up with her. They started beating her and insulting her. However, Bilha started screaming and neighbors came to her rescue and the men fled. A neighbor gave her clothes and they visited the scene of crime together with the neighbors. She slept at the neighbor’s house and the next morning she was taken to Murumba sub county hospital and a doctor at the facility called REEP to report the matter.

She was treated and discharged. She then went to Murumba police station where the matter was reported. At the station, she found out that three of the six perpetrators had been arrested. At the station, relatives of the three perpetrators requested that they settle the matter out of court.  Bilha’s family; her mother, sisters and brothers also arrived and they too together with the police at Murumba police station started pressuring Bilha to drop all charges since what had happened to her was not that ‘serious’ and that she should accept whatever compensation the perpetrators would offer her. Which was to include 6 cows.1 from each perpetrator.

Bilha however refused and her mother warned her not to return home since she did not want to be involved in any police or court case. Bilha was stranded at the police station. Our director Madam Mary Makokha was forced to take in Bilha as she sought alternative accommodation for her since there are no safe houses/shelters in Busia county.

This is not the first time Bilha has been assaulted. She has survived 3 stabbing incidents by her ex-husband who also killed their four year old son and buried him in a sack behind his house before he sent her away. No legal action has ever been taken against him. Bilha is in urgent need of rescue, counselling and economic support.

#EndGBV #SayNoToRAPE