Nairobi protests as rapists of 16-year old girl ordered to cut grass as punishment
- 11 years ago
Protests took place on Thursday in Nairobi, Kenya, calling for six men who raped a girl and left her in a sewer to be brought to justice. Three of the six were ordered only to cut the grass of the police station as punishment.
The sixteen-year-old victim, known only as Liz, was left in a wheelchair, sparking outrage and a one million strong global petition.
One woman said: “We want justice and we want the government of Kenya to make sure that the medical bills for Liz are taken care of.”
Another woman who spoke to euronews was equally critical of the leniency handed to the attackers: “I am standing with my sisters in Kenya to say it is a violation of a woman’s rights to rape her and then the men go unpunished. That is what we are doing today”.
But it was not only women who came together for the protest. One man told us: “It is our issue all together. Me as a man, I am standing here and trying to involve other men so that we can come together and say no to gender based violence.”
Crowds descended on the Inspector General’s office to vent their frustrations at the country’s legal process. Lawmakers have condemned the attack in a country with a high incidence of sexual assaults, which are often taken lightly by the police.
The sixteen-year-old victim, known only as Liz, was left in a wheelchair, sparking outrage and a one million strong global petition.
One woman said: “We want justice and we want the government of Kenya to make sure that the medical bills for Liz are taken care of.”
Another woman who spoke to euronews was equally critical of the leniency handed to the attackers: “I am standing with my sisters in Kenya to say it is a violation of a woman’s rights to rape her and then the men go unpunished. That is what we are doing today”.
But it was not only women who came together for the protest. One man told us: “It is our issue all together. Me as a man, I am standing here and trying to involve other men so that we can come together and say no to gender based violence.”
Crowds descended on the Inspector General’s office to vent their frustrations at the country’s legal process. Lawmakers have condemned the attack in a country with a high incidence of sexual assaults, which are often taken lightly by the police.