By Joseph Kibugu, IJM Kenya Field Director

The mother of a young victim of sexual violence shows her picture to IJM staff.

During tea break, Ruth, a social worker working within the community pulled me aside and sought to share with me another hurdle in seeking justice for the victims. “I am a fighter and do not give easily when confronted with situations which need patience and perseverance. However, I get frustrated when the police doctor does a poor job and compromises intervention.” I had heard this before and experienced what she was talking about through our casework but I wanted to get her perspective. I urged her on. ‘Two years ago, Halima, a teenage girl of Somali origin was defiled in this neighbourhood. The perpetrator was arrested by the police. However, when Halima was taken to the Nairobi police doctor, he examined her and noted on the medical report form that she had not been assaulted.” This was perplexing as Halima’s mother, Ruth, and several of her colleagues had all noted medical proof of abuse. “When we confronted the police about this, they stated that the doctor was the best qualified to make these findings and therefore no case had been established against the suspect who was subsequently released from custody.”

This has been a household sad state of affairs for victims of sexual violence in Nairobi. Medical proof of sexual assault is vital to effectively prosecute perpetrators. The conservatively estimated Nairobi population of about 3.5 million has one police doctor to whom, by dint of practice as opposed to legal requirement, police investigators refer cases of sexual violence to for examination. This lone doctor is overwhelmed and ill-equipped to examine all cases of physical and sexual assault in Nairobi and later give court testimony about his findings.

The result has been very predictable; criminal cases are regularly delayed and compromised due to adjournments occasioned by too much work on his part. In other cases reminiscent of Halima’s, the police doctor has made patently inaccurate findings that have baffled laymen and his fellow medical practitioners alike. It is likely that this is a deliberate effort of his part to limit his workload since where there is a finding of no assault, such as in Halima’s case, the police do not file charges and he is therefore not required to testify in court.

Changing the Structure

In 2005, IJM personnel realised that this was perhaps one of the weakest links in seeking justice for victims of sexual violence. We embarked on a journey to contribute to structural change in this area and increase the likelihood of more perpetrators who prey on children getting a jail term. We were not under any delusion that this would be an easy task. We documented cases in which the Nairobi police doctor’s malfeasance had resulted in some sort of compromise to the criminal trials. The cases were both from our archives and also from other organisations and individuals who had encountered the same problem.

We compiled a comprehensive and compelling Intervention Report and presented it to the highest actors in the criminal justice system in the land including the Director of Criminal Investigations and the Director of Public Prosecutions. Both were unanimous that this was a grave problem that needed urgent attention. However, despite the urgency exhibited at the presentation stage and numerous reminders, no positive action was forthcoming from the two offices. There were transitions in both offices and we realised that we either had to change tact or give up. The latter was easy but unfathomable. In the meantime, more victims of sexual violence – mostly young boys and girls – continued to be denied justice because of the weak link that was the Nairobi police doctor.

Early last year, we wrote to the Clerk of Parliament requesting appointments with the Parliamentary Committees on Health and Legal and Administration of Justice Affairs. Our goal was to enlighten the members of these crucial watchdog committees on the plight of victims of sexual violence and seek their intervention in prevailing upon the executive arm of the government to take remedial measures and equip the police clinic and add more doctors.

After about four months of waiting, we finally received the opportunity to have committee hearings. Members of the Legal and Administration of Justice committee were outraged when they learned about the conditions of the police surgeon’s clinic. Moreover, the interim chair of the committee had undergone a personal experience when his son was physically assaulted. His attempt to get justice was frustrated as he fruitlessly waited for a medical report at the police doctor’s office for two days before giving up. To him, IJM had just given him an opportunity to right something that had not only affected the public but his family in a personal way. The chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Health was livid on seeing photos of the clinic in an obviously deplorable condition he described as ‘inhuman’. We secured commitments from both committees that they would raise the issue with the Minister for Internal Security.

Steps Toward Victory

The honourable Members of Parliament honoured their commitment. On September 20, 2005, Internal Security Assistant Minister Peter Munya admitted in Parliament that there are only three police doctors in Kenya with one stationed in Nairobi. He cited government’s inability to hire more doctors due to the competitive salaries that they would require.

Despite this grim picture, the silver lining of the parliamentary discussion of this matter was a clarification by the minister that there is no legal requirement that police doctors should be the only medical professionals licensed to complete documentation of abuse admissible in court. Though this was an obvious restatement of the law, the significance of this statement is that it will hopefully persuade police officers to explore seeking help from other doctors and reduce the backlog in the police doctor’s clinic. Victims of sexual violence will get justice and in a more expeditious manner with this particular obstacle receiving attention by the legislative arm of government.

We are aware that the battle has been won but the war is not over. The next phase in our intervention will be to monitor compliance and encourage more police officers to seek alternative help.

Unfortunately but expectedly, parliament was dissolved shortly afterwards due to a scheduled general election. The election results have been contested, resulting in sporadic violence in Nairobi and throughout Kenya. According to the chief executive officer of Nairobi Women’s Hospital, a private health facility offering free medical attention to victims of gender violence, the ten days of violence sparked a surge of cases of rape and defilement. On average, the hospital admitted ten more cases of sexual assault than normal on a daily basis. This did not factor the many victims who could not access the hospital due to insecurity in their neighbourhoods.

This latest development underscores the need to increase the capacity of forensic examination in sexual violence cases and was an affirmation to IJM Kenya staff that the course that we have been championing is a worthy one. We hope to engage the newly elected members of parliament to ensure that this is priority as it will be the only way to ensure that the Sexual Offences Act legislated by the previous parliament is meaningful in creating a deterrence from sexual abuse. Structural change requires resolute persistence but watching as it happens is a powerful and deeply rewarding experience.