A senior chief from Kirinyaga County has appealed directly to the Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen, for help after years of police inaction in his son’s assault case.
The chief spoke at a Jukwaa la Usalama forum in Kerugoya last Friday. He shared how his son, now 18, was sodomized by a well-known individual in 2020. Despite his position and efforts, the criminal investigation has gone nowhere.
He said, “I have even been going to the Kirinyaga Police commander in Kerugoya in vain. I am a government officer like them, but they have been refusing to help me. Yet I am the one helping people here who will help me now?”
He further accused a DCI officer from Gichugu of subverting the process. “I suspect the officer who has been transferred has been working with senior officers in this region, because I am being taken around whenever I visit a police station, even in the police commander’s office in Kerugoya.”
The chief said the ordeal has taken a heavy toll on his family. He added, “I thought the police would help me, but right now I am stressed. Because even my son was infected.” His wife has since fled their home, leaving him to care for their son alone.
Left with no other recourse, he turned to Cabinet Secretary Murkomen at the forum, hoping that his appeal might finally spur justice.
In response, Murkomen has ordered investigations. He promised that the victim would indeed receive justice.
Broader Context
Delays in sexual assault and gender-based cases are a serious and ongoing concern across Kenya. Experts say that such delays can deepen trauma for victims and signal a failure of the justice system. In related cases, activist groups have pointed to systemic delays, corruption and limited support for survivors as major obstacles to timely justice.
Chief Justice Martha Koome has previously acknowledged the mounting backlog in gender-based cases and emphasised the importance of specialized courts though many such cases remain unresolved.
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