I wish they had killed me that day; Hidden victims of Kenya’s 2008 crisis
An SGBV survivor. Survivors of 2007/08 post-election sexual violence in Kenya still await delayed justice.
What you need to know:
- Survivors of 2007/08 post-election sexual violence in Kenya still await delayed justice and reparations.
- Court delays worsen trauma for victims of brutal ethnic attacks and state neglect during post-election chaos.
In January 2008, Taram*, then a teenager living in Naivasha, Nakuru County, with his brothers, was paralysed with fear as chaos unfolded around him.
There was blood everywhere as members of the majority ethnic community turned against those they considered aliens and enemies from minority groups, killing some, maiming others, and, worst of all, subjecting many to the horrors of sexual violence and brutal forced circumcision.
Alone in the house, Taram clung to the hope that the attackers would bypass their home. But tragedy struck when a group of men, red with fury and intent on humiliating anyone they deemed an outsider, stormed in.
They dragged him from the house to a nearby area, pulled down his trousers to inspect whether he belonged to a community that did not practise circumcision, and then did the unthinkable in the most inhumane manner. They pulled his foreskin without mercy as if tearing a goat’s hide, and with a single brutal strike, severed it.
Blood gushed out like water from a leaking dam. The attackers never cared; they had accomplished their mission and moved on to the next target. Taram survived only by the grace of God. Had it not been for a humanitarian van collecting the injured, he would be dead.
Yet even after being taken to Naivasha District Hospital, he waited for hours in blood-soaked clothes and ultimately received no treatment. His distraught brothers searched for him everywhere until they found him at the hospital. When they went to report the violation at a local police station, officers told them they were not working.
Fearing further attacks, they slept outside near the police station for several days before being transferred to Naivasha Maximum Security Prison for shelter. Weeks later, they were transported to their homeland in Kisumu.
Post-election chaos
Taram describes forced circumcision as akin to butchering an animal. The excruciating pain still paralyses him whenever the memory flits through his mind. He wishes they had killed him that day, rather than subject him to pain that only God, he says, can comprehend. For that unforgivable crime, he wants justice.
It is justice that he and seven other survivors of sexual violence during the 2007/08 post-election chaos sought through Constitutional Petition No. 122 of 2013. Of the survivors. Six were women and two were men, including Taram.
They petitioned the High Court to declare that the state had violated numerous rights, including the right to life, equality, and freedom from discrimination, by failing to act on the sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) crimes committed during that period.
The survivors, alongside the Coalition on Violence against Women, Independent Medico-Legal Unit, the International Commission of Jurists, and the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), filed the petition, faulting the state for not classifying SGBV crimes as crimes against humanity.
In a virtual ruling delivered in December 2020, Judge Weldon Korir found that the state had failed to protect the right to life; the prohibition against torture, inhuman and degrading treatment; the right to security of the person; the right to protection of the law; the right to equality and freedom from discrimination; and the right to a remedy- but only in the case of four petitioners, all women.
For the other four petitioners, Justice Korir ruled that they had not provided sufficient evidence to show that the assaults were instigated, consented to, or acquiesced in by a public official or someone acting in an official capacity. Consequently, he awarded the four women Sh4 million each as damages for the violation of their constitutional rights. Nearly five years later, the compensation remains unpaid.
Meanwhile, the other four survivors, aggrieved by the High Court’s decision, filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal. They argue that the state has a duty to protect all individuals, regardless of whether the perpetrators were state or non-state actors.
The court is also tasked with addressing the state’s accountability in cases where crimes are not reported to the police, particularly during periods of conflict or unrest, when it is almost impossible for survivors to access law enforcement services.
The survivors, alongside the human rights organisations supporting them, are seeking monetary compensation, the establishment of a special mechanism for investigations and prosecutions, and comprehensive reparations for survivors, including medical, psychosocial and legal assistance. The appeal seeks to expand the scope of state accountability and address the systemic impunity surrounding SGBV in Kenya.
However, the wait for justice has taken a cruel turn. Twice, the Court of Appeal has postponed the judgment – first on April 11, 2025, and again on April 25, 2025. This has shattered the survivors even further.
“When I heard about this latest delay in receiving the appeal judgment, my heart dropped because all my hopes were hanging on it,” says Taram. “I feel like the courts are not serious about us and about their obligations to survivors. My trust has completely diminished. It seems they are no longer dependable and have abandoned their duty and the justice frameworks they are supposed to uphold.”
Salila*, who was raped by police officers who forced entry into her home in Kibera in January 2008, struggles daily with trauma and the lifelong burden of living with HIV. Every delay feels like another slow death for her. “We have been in pain for so long and have waited patiently, but it does not seem the state recognises our suffering. We cannot even afford to go to hospital because we lack the finances. Since I was violated, I have lived with sickness,” she says bitterly.
While compensation cannot restore her health, it would ease the overwhelming burden she faces. “I was violated and contracted HIV; money will not heal me. But it will support my children’s education and perhaps help me start a business that would reduce my burden and stress.”
The survivors are broken by the delays. The human rights organisations standing with them are heartbroken too. “The repeated postponements of the judgment have left them heartbroken and nearly hopeless. As an organisation that has walked this journey and continues to stand with them, we, too, are struggling to understand and process these delays. Nevertheless, we remain steadfast,” says Suzanne Kidenda, the acting head of PHR office in Kenya.
“Our hope is renewed! And our commitment to pursuing justice for these survivors and for many others remains unwavering.”
*Names have been changed to protect their identities.