Victims of 2007 post-election sexual violence deserve justice

Sexual violence; sodomy, defilement, rape in all its forms and whether actual and or attempted depletes human dignity and self-worth. The scarring, physical and psychological remain forever. Stripping of one’s dignity is atrocious and a malodorous form of international crime.

While sexual violence is a physical act, the aftermath is a concoction of emotional and invisible scars that forever haunts the victims and survivors, family and society. While some victims and survivors remain at that dark phase of the violation, some are ushered into a murky reality, especially where the violation brings forth children.

It’s a very excruciating for a victim and survivor to deal with her agonising scars and also have a constant reminder in her life by seeing and caring for a daughter or a son. In reality, this brings a scenario of mixed feelings; mothers love and a source of constant pain and reminder of the atrocities committed against them. The children too have a fair share of pain as society heaps loads of revulsion, not to mention the initial mothers’ anxiety.

This year marks the 17th year since the infamous 2007 post-election violence. It was the politicians who were settling scores. However,  communities were set against each other, leading to displacement of people, destruction of property and death. In the mix, sexual violence was introduced as an effective evil tool for conflict which left a wave of pain and suffering to a lot of Kenyans. The perpetrators apparently have gone scot-free and this clearly will breed a culture of impunity.

Emotional get-together

The Grace Agenda, a human rights lobby group championing for reparations for victims of sexual violence for the 2007 post-election violence and also of the subsequent electoral phases, brought together victims and survivors in an emotional get-together on March 1, 2025 in Nairobi.

Listening to the over 40 representatives of victims and survivors from Kisumu, Busia, Migori, Mombasa, Nairobi and Nakuru was a reminiscence of their horrendous experiences and brought back bouts of pain and grief. The 17-year journey has been most painful and no other human being should ever be subjected to the same. The sexual violence episodes disrupted lives, some difficult to repair.

Some of the victims were left destitute, divorced and ostracised by society. Families were also left with very bad scars, especially where rape preceded the killing of the victims. Other family members, especially husbands, chose substance abuse and alcoholism with some ending their lives. Due to the violent nature of sexual violence, some victims were left with permanent physical injuries and huge medical bills to take care of. It pains to also listen to stories of women, who despite having physical disability, were subjected to acts of rape.

The icing on the poisoned cake of trauma was the presence at the meeting of children who were born out of rape and defilement during the 2007 post-election episodes. The innocent looking children bubbly and full of energy were such a beautiful sight to behold; innocent souls, who together with their mothers, deserve nothing but full reparations.

The children, now in their mid-teens, are fully aware of their history and I am glad that they have made peace with it. It was so encouraging to listen to their songs and narrations, although they aroused pain.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and other organisations have with consistency sustained a call for full reparations and full implementation of the recommendations of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) report which identified sexual violence as one of the worst atrocities in the history of Kenya.

The Grace Agenda organisation continues to carry forward the difficult but necessary task of bringing together survivors of sexual violence, especially those related elections. They really need to be supported especially in the call for implementation of the Kinshasa Declaration on The Rights to Reparation and Co-Creation of Survivors and Victims of Conflict-Related Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.

We can only be fair if as a country, we support the implementation of the TJRC-based reparations framework and domesticate the Kinshasa protocol to ensure that justice to the children born out sexual violence and their mothers is realised.

The children born as a result of sexual violence during the 2007 post-election violence don’t just deserve comforting words; they deserve justice and reparations. They need to be supported to get therapeutic counselling support, good education and equal chances in society. They are wonderful children.