Busia - Hundreds of protesters marched through a Kenyan town on Monday
demanding justice for a schoolgirl who was brutally gang raped, ahead of the
trial of suspects who were originally punished by being made to cut grass.
"We have come out to demand justice for our girls," said Jennifer Lucheli,
45, mother of five, as she marched through the streets of the western Kenyan
town, near the border with Uganda.
Worldwide outrage over the punishment last year prompted over 1.7 million
people to sign a petition demanding justice.
The protest comes a day ahead of the opening of a trial of at least one of
those accused of carrying out the attack.
The 16-year-old victim, known by the pseudonym Liz, was reportedly attacked,
beaten and then raped by six men as she returned from her grandfather's
funeral in western Kenya in June 2013.
The gang dumped her, bleeding and unconscious, in a deep sewage ditch.
She suffered a broken back, caused either by the beating or by being hurled
down into the pit, as well as serious internal injuries from the rape.
'We demand justice for Liz'
The case made global headlines after it emerged that three of the alleged
rapists whom Liz identified were ordered by police to cut grass around the
police station as punishment.
Police chief David Kimaiyo later cast doubt on Liz's testimony, saying in
November that the time between her screams for help and villagers coming to
her rescue was "too short for six assailants to have gang raped her".
But the public prosecutor then ordered the suspects to be charged with gang
rape.
"Rape has been so rampant in this area that we can't sit back, we need to
stop the appalling criminal act," said Joy Musumba, 25, holding a placard
that read "slashing grass is not punishment for rape."
Business at the usually busy border town came to a standstill as residents
and traders were caught by surprise by the protest, with men on motorbike
taxis joining the march, honking horns as they drove alongside.
"We demand justice for Liz," placards carried by the protestors read. "Liz
is just like me," another sign read.
Received on Mon Jun 23 2014 - 12:33:56 EDT