Kenyan Officials Call for Change After Pulitzer Center Grantee's Report on Rapists Going Free

Warning: This blog update discusses sexual assault

According to the Daily Nation, a report by Kenya’s Interior Ministry is recommending mandatory criminal prosecution of all perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). This comes after a Pulitzer Center-supported video report by grantee Rose Wangui for NTV. The video explores how a traditional conflct-resolution system called Maslaha denies Kenyan rape victims justice.

The video, titled Silenced Suffering: Some Perpetrators Allowed To Walk Free After Raping Young Women in Kenya, tells the stories of rape victims who were pressured to withdraw formal criminal court cases in favor of Maslaha.

Some of the victims said they were pressured by assailants’ families while others were encouraged by their own family members to avoid community stigma.

“My mother opted for Maslaha because she didn’t want me to face stigma for having a child out [of] wedlock,” Rahma, who became pregnant after being raped, says in the video.

Maslaha courts are commonly used in the northeastern region of Kenya. They are run by male elders from the community who negotiate a solution to conflict without using the formal legal system.

Halima Bochola, an activist from the town of Wajir in northern Kenya, described the importance of Maslaha. “[Maslaha] is deeply rooted in our culture, in our community,” Bochola said.

Maslaha emphasizes compensation for victims, but some families told Wangui the elders often keep a portion of the restitution money for themselves.

Activists have warned against the use of Maslaha and accused elders of "protecting" rapists.

In Rahma’s case, the assailant’s family raised 60,000 shillings [USD $464], and she was ordered to marry the abuser after giving birth. However, after the baby was born, the rapist and his family fled and are still on the run.

“I received 30,000 shillings [USD $232], while elders pocketed the rest. Money is nothing compared to what happened. I am still bitter,” Rahma’s mother said in the video.

Mandatory prosecutions of all SGBV perpetrators may require a law change in the National Assembly, the Daily Nation reported.

“In the North Eastern region, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) is often perpetrated by close relatives and people in authority, such as teachers, administrators, and prominent people in society. Female participants complained about the use of maslahah—a traditional dispute resolution mechanism outside the legal system. This denies the victims justice, support and fails to check the vice,” an Interior Ministry report says, according to the Daily Nation.

The Daily Nation also reported that Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen plans to “lead the opening of child protection units in sub-counties, establish gender desks at police stations, crack down on trade and consumption of illicit alcohol and strengthen community policing.”